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Penn State prepares for tough battle at Michigan State

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<p>A three-way tie for first in the MAC Freedom Conference between the Wilkes, Misericordia and DeSales women&#8217;s soccer teams was broken when Wilkes defeated Manhattanville in their regular-season finale and secured the No. 1 seed.</p><p>For the first time in the program&#8217;s history, the Lady Colonels entered the postseason with the conference&#8217;s top seed.</p><p>Misericordia, who took the No. 2 seed, blanked third-seeded DeSales 2-0 in the semifinals and will head to Wilkes for the championship game on Saturday. It&#8217;s the first time the two teams have squared off in the MAC Freedom final.</p><p>Wilkes advanced to the championship game by defeating No. 4-seed Eastern 1-0 in double overtime.</p><p>Under head coach John Sumoski, the Lady Colonels are returning to the title game for the fourth time, aiming for the program&#8217;s second championship.</p><p>Facing off in the MAC Freedom Women&#8217;s Soccer Championship &#8212; held at Schmidt Stadium in Edwardsville at 5 p.m. &#8212; the Lady Colonels (13-2-3) will have the upperhand after defeating Misericordia (13-4-2) in the first meeting, 1-0 on Oct. 18.</p><p>&#8220;This season has been good so far, and felt like a pleasant surprise. I am not overly surprised at this point in the season, but I would not have expected to only lose two games out of the past 18,&#8221; Sumoski said. &#8220;It was great to defeat Eastern 1-0 in the semifinals after tying them in the regular season. They are a really stingy team who does not like to give up goals.&#8221;</p><p>For the past two years, DeSales has eliminated Wilkes from the MAC Freedom tournament. In 2015, Wilkes dropped the championship to DeSales, 2-1, and lost the semifinals last year 2-1. DeSales defeated Wilkes in the regular season, 2-0, but were eliminated by Misericordia in the semifinals.</p><p>&#8220;DeSales has had our number the last few years, but I would have warmly welcomed a final match against them,&#8221; Sumoski said. &#8220;Our players were looking for redemption, so that could of fired us up.&#8221;</p><p>The Cougars are in the championship match for the sixth time in seven years. The program is looking for a fifth MAC title, as well as revenge from the regular-season loss to Wilkes. Misericordia was ranked No. 18 nationally at the time.</p><p>&#8220;It is all about expectations. We coach them to pay attention and let the results talk. The most important part is to win, and not necessarily how many goals are scored. It is nice to reach another final,&#8221; Misericordia&#8217;s head coach Mark Stauffer said. &#8220;It requires a lot of maintenance to keep reaching the finals. It&#8217;s all about those expectations, but also about the players keeping their bodies and minds ready. Every day we improve as a program.&#8221;</p><p>Stauffer added that the team faced some major injuries this season. Five players on the team tore their ACL, which resulted in some adjustments on the field.</p><p>The biggest adjustment is working as a team on offense for a more balanced attack. According to Stauffer, the players will take shots from random positions on the field throughout the game because of it.</p><p>&#8220;I love the matchup. Misericordia has some extremely talented forwards, so we need to keep track of them. We are precise with scouting this year, and that helped the last time we played,&#8221; Sumoski said. &#8220;It will be hard to make scoring chances, it will be physical and a great game for outsiders to come watch because there will not be a better game in the area.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The matchup should be an exciting one,&#8221; Stauffer said. &#8220;The Wilkes team is well-coached, and they are a big defensive team.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Stauffer </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Stauffer-mug.jpg</photo0><caption0>Stauffer </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Sumoski-mug.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sumoski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Sumoski-mug.jpg</photo1><caption1>Sumoski </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Van Brunt</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Women’s soccer preview: Wilkes hosts Misericordia for MAC Freedom Championship