MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – For as much change as Penn State Harrisburg's women's soccer team had to absorb from 2011 to 2012, one thing remained the same: success on between the lines.
The Lions welcomed first-year Head Coach Adam Clay to Middletown this fall while also bidding goodbye to three North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) all-league selections.
Despite the preseason uncertainty, the Lions thrived.
The Blue and White finished the year 13-7 overall and an impressive 10-2 in conference play, good enough to earn the squad the number three seed in the league's postseason championship tournament. In their first round matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 31, the ladies dominated Keuka and ended the visiting Storm's season thanks to a 4-1 victory.
Harrisburg jumped out front early when NEAC first-team all-conference selection Lindsey Haldeman (Grantville, Pa. / Hershey Christian) headed-home her third goal of the season off a perfectly-placed corner kick from sophomore Morgan Gates (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) in the game's ninth minute.
The Lions doubled their advantage just 3:40 later when sophomore Ashley Pittman (Redmond, Wash. / Bear Creek) found NEAC all-conference second-team honoree Fay Ansary (Hummelstown, Pa. / Hershey) in front for her 11th score of the year.
Keuka cut into the deficit when the Storm's Sarah Capek notched her third goal of 2012 just shy of the first half's 30-minute mark but that would be all the scoring Mackenzie Gates (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin), the ladies' third-team all-conference goalkeeper, would give up on the night.
The Lions' Lindsey and Lyndsay show proved too potent for the visitors to handle ten minutes later when Haldeman found fellow NEAC all-conference first-team selection Lyndsay Naughton (Reading, Pa. / Reading Central Catholic) in front of the net off a free kick. Naughton headed the well-placed ball past Keuka goalie Maggie Tower for her team-leading 18th score of the year and made it 3-1 Harrisburg as halftime loomed.
The Blue and White shut out the Storm in the second half but Keuka could not reciprocate. Ansary scored her second goal of the night in the match's 86th minute. The 4-1 lead would hold and Harrisburg advanced.
Unfortunately for the Lions, a Naughton red card late in the game kept her from playing in the team's next matchup against second-seeded Lancaster Bible. Her absence proved costly as Harrisburg fell to the Chargers, the eventual conference champions, in the tourney's semifinals 3-0.
The tournament loss will not be the lasting image of Penn State Harrisburg's latest campaign, however. Instead, it will be one of a successful season and team that continued to lay the groundwork for the program's bright future.
Be sure to check back for the number seven entry on Penn State Harrisburg's list of the top ten moments of the fall sports season. We'll see just how fast these Lions can run…