READING, Pa. – Widener men's soccer has clinched a playoff berth in the 2023 postseason. As the third seed, they will travel to Reading, Pa. to take on the two-seeded Alvernia University Golden Wolves on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

The Pride went 12-3-2 in the regular season. They went 3-2-2 in conference play. The Pride were 9-0 for the entirety of September before losing their first two matches to Stockton and Messiah in early October. They went 9-0 at home for the season and were nationally ranked for two weeks, going as high as #12. Coming into the match with Alvernia, Widener is coming off a loss.

The Golden Wolves were 10-6-1 this season (6-1 MAC). The one tie on the year was a scoreless draw to Lebanon Valley. Alvernia was balanced, as they had almost identical records at home (5-3-1) and away (5-3). Coming into the match with Widener, Alvernia has won four of their last five.

Widener and Alvernia met for the last time on Oct. 28, where the Golden Wolves won 2-0 in Reading. Interestingly, the Pride and the Golden Wolves met in the 2022 semifinals as well. Widener won 1-0 in Chester to advance to the MAC Championships.

The Pride had plenty of stars in action this season. Sean Fatiga, Max Hartke, Christian Vetter, and Kevin Witkoski were four players who started all 17 matches. Fatiga tied his own school record with 16 goals and 35 points. He also led Widener with 28 shots on goal in 54 attempts and four game winners. On Sept. 30 against York, Fatiga became Widener's all-time leader in career goals. Meanwhile, first-year Jordi Lopez made quite the impression for the Pride. He led the team with six assists, and his 12 points were second-best behind Fatiga.

In goal, Ryan Van Pelt was the star for the Pride. He started all 15 matches played, seeing over 1200 minutes of action. He made 42 saves, had four shutouts (and one combined shutout), and he only allowed 13 goals.

The winner of this match would face the winner of Stevenson-Messiah to decide who wins the conference. That match would be on Saturday, Nov. 4.

MAC Commonwealth Championship gear can be purchased here.

Ticket prices are as follows: $5 (adults), $4 (senior citizens), $2 (students with valid ID and children), and preschool children under six years old with an adult get in for free.