After a season full of ties, Friday’s semifinal Commonwealth Conference match-up between the Elizabethtown College women’s soccer team and the Stevenson University Mustangs was no different; regulation and two overtime periods were not enough to declare a winner. Faced with determining victory by penalty kicks, the Blue Jays fell 3-2 and ended their season.
Etown had many opportunities to score throughout the game, but Mustang goalkeeper Allison Johnson was a force in the net and made 10 saves that night. Johnson was also critical during the penalty kicks, stopping shots from seniors Amy Bunting and Rebekah Richards and first-year Samantha Small. Although senior goalie Jess Manchak made two saves during the shootout period, the Blue Jays were not able to come out with the win that would pit them against Messiah College in the Commonwealth Conference Championships.
Despite the heartbreaking end to the year, the Blue Jays still have a lot to celebrate for this season. Coming in with 17 first-years, it was hard to make an accurate prediction on the team chemistry. The superb play from several of the first-years and the coaching of Head Coach Jason Petronis all factored into the team’s success. Petronis was named the Commonwealth Conference’s Coach of the Year for his work this season, and six players were named to all-conference teams. First-year Trisha Clark earned Rookie of the Year for her stellar performance.
Starting all 19 games as a first-year, Clark made an immediate impact on the field for Etown. Tied for first for points, she collected six goals and four assists on the year and was the team leader for shots on goal with 34.
Clark remarked how thankful she was for the honor. “My first season as a Blue Jay exceeded all my expectations,” she said. “We accomplished so many great things as a program this year, and I can’t wait to continue this winning tradition.”
In his second full year as head coach for the Blue Jays, Petronis has led Etown to a stellar 10-3-6 record. Building the team since the middle of the 2010 season, Petronis helped the Blue Jays surpass expectations this year. Although the team was picked to finish fifth in the conference at the beginning of the season, they ended up finishing third in the conference.
Also honored this season for the women were Bunting, Manchak, senior Laura Wingert, Clark, and first-years Kaceyanne Cerankowski and Deanna Slater. Bunting made First Team All-Conference for the fourth year, while Wingert, Clark and Cerankowski collected Second Team honors. Manchak and Slater received Honorable Mention. Wingert also received academic honors this season, for she was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District team for the second consecutive year.
To get to the playoffs, the Blue Jays first had to get past a tough Widener team. Wingert scored in the Oct. 27 game in double overtime off a pass from Cerankowski. The win gave the third seed in conference playoffs to Etown. Throughout the game, Etown poured 25 shots on Widener goalie Vanessa Hejnas, but her 16 saves kept the Pride in the game down to the end.
With the win, Manchak became the women’s soccer program’s all-time wins leader with 33 wins. The record was previously held by Lisa Blanker ’01. The win was also Manchak’s 19th career shutout.
Thoughts are already directed to next season. “Next season I want our team to win the MAC Championship and earn a berth in the NCAA tournament,” Clark said. “I hope that we continue to grow as a team and continue to build our reputation as a winning program.”