Four of Widener's teams continue the march toward the NCAA Tournament as they are set to compete in their respective Commonwealth Conference semifinals.
The men's soccer team is the fourth seed and on Tuesday visits top-seeded Lebanon Valley at 2:00 pm. The women's soccer squad is the No. 2 seed and on Wednesday hosts Elizabethtown at 4:00 pm at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium. The third-seeded volleyball team on Wednesday plays at Elizabethtown at 7:00 pm and the fourth-seeded field hockey squad on Wednesday visits second-ranked Messiah at 4:00 pm.
Tickets for all games are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students and free those under age 6.
Men's soccer (8-7-3, 3-3 CC) played its way in the tournament thanks to Saturday's 2-1 victory over Lycoming for its third berth in five years. Senior forward Bill James (Perkasie, PA) paces the squad with five goals as he and freshman Preston Dudley (Grasonville, MD) each are tied for seventh in the league with 12 points.
Junior Hamed Correa (Cali, Colombia) has solidified his spot as goalkeeper, posting a 6-5 record and sitting fifth in the league with a .773 save percentage.
The other semifinal pits ninth-ranked Messiah hosting third-seeded Lycoming.
Women's soccer (11-4-2, 4-1-1), in its third straight league tournament, is hosting its second conference tournament game and first since defeating Drew in the Middle Atlantic Conference semifinals on October 25, 1995. Wednesday's winner faces either second-ranked Messiah or fourth-seeded Arcadia.
The Pride have gotten solid production from Brittany Harvis (Delran, NJ), who is tied for fourth in the league with 12 goals, and fellow freshman Brittany Balentine (Medford, NJ), who is tied for ninth with 19 points. Two-time all-conference junior Sam Baer (Lancaster, PA) is tied for seventh with 21 points.
Junior Alee Gunter (Maple Shade, NJ) has been solid in net with eight shutouts to tie for the league lead. Widener set the school record with 11 shutouts so far this year and has six in its last seven matches.
Volleyball (25-8, 4-2) marched to its best win total in school history thanks to solid play on both offense and defense. On offense, junior Devan Green (Monroe Center, IL) sits fifth in the league with 2.72 kills per set and freshman Rachel Lambert (Glenmore, PA) has come on strong at 2.32 kills per set. Freshman setter Jamie Ballew (Media, PA) is second in the conference with 8.48 assists per set.
Junior Julieanne Gryn (Springfield, PA) is fifth in the league with 4.41 digs per set after leading the way each of her first two years. Junior Duong Lau (Upper Darby, PA) is eighth at 3.77 digs per set and Widener also has received great defensive play from seniors Meghan Fitzsimmons (Lancaster, NY) and Ashley Varallo (Havertown, PA).
The second semifinal has No. 1 seed Lebanon Valley facing fourth-seeded Messiah.
Field hockey (7-11, 2-3) held its own in a conference with three ranked teams and a schedule that featured six ranked opponents. Junior Jessica Gonzalez (Eastampton, NJ) and sophomore Megan Scarpinato (Sewell, NJ) are tied for fifth in the league with seven assists.
Junior Dina Haritonidis (Upper Darby, PA) paces a strong defense, leading the league with 12 defensive saves, and sophomore Megan Purcell (Perkasie, PA) is fifth with a .754 save percentage.
Wednesday's other semifinal is between seventh-ranked Lebanon Valley and 13th-ranked Elizabethtown.
