UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2024 PSUAC Men's and Women's Soccer Championship tournaments will commence this week, beginning with a play-in game on the men's side on Wednesday afternoon to complete the semifinal fields.

Five men's and three women's teams will contend for the titles, including top seeds Penn State Lehigh Valley (men) and Penn State Mont Alto (women). The Mont Alto women have earned a bye into the PSUAC Women's Soccer Championship game after going undefeated in the PSUAC regular season.

Penn State New Kensington, the men's four-seed, will play host to fifth-seeded Penn State Beaver in Wednesday's quartefinal game. The top three seeds for the men receive byes to the semifinal round. 

The first round and semifinals are hosted by the higher seed in each game, with the championship games scheduled for Tuesday, November 5th at Panzer Stadium on the University Park campus. The women's game will begin at 4 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 6:30 p.m.

Let's meet our teams.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

#1 Penn State Mont Alto (6-4-1, 6-0 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Grace Lochner (9 goals); Madison Eberly (7 goals, 7 assists); Alexis Mariano (7 goals)

Other Players to Watch: Sophie Bowersox (goalie); Eliza Vance (6 assists)

One Stat: Mont Alto outscored its conference opponents by 34 goals this season, but its two matches with Penn State Schuylkill were each just a one goal margin.

#2 Penn State Schuylkill (7-6-1, 4-2 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Grace Fenstermacher (17 goals); Zoe Gannon (13 goals); Brittney Holland (12 goals)

Other Players to Watch: Olivia Dress (10 goals, 6 assists); Evelyn Crall (6 assists)

One Stat: The top three goal scorers in the PSUAC all come from the same roster--Schuylkill's. Schuylkill posted more than 140 shots than its next closest competitor in the PSUAC.

#3 Penn State Hazleton (2-9, 2-4 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Alexis Marotto (12 goals); Jasmine Bender (5 goals); Alyssa Marlowe (4 goals)

Other Players to Watch: Kaycee Cadden (5 assists)

One Stat: Second in the conference in shooting percentage, but trail Mont Alto and Schuylkill in shot attempts per game by 10 and 15 shots, respectively.

WOMEN'S SCHEDULE

Saturday, November 2nd

Semifinals: Hazleton at Schuylkill

Tuesday, November 5th

Championship: Semifinal winner vs. Mont Alto, 4 p.m., Panzer Stadium

MEN'S SOCCER

#1 Penn State Lehigh Valley (11-1-3, 8-0-1 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Jerod Younes (11 goals); Jack Montesdeoca (7 goals, 12 assists); Shawn Venet (7 goals) 

Other Players to Watch: Julian Briody (defender); Jonathan Smith & Michael Meyers, Jr. (split time in goal)

One Stat: Biggest goal differential against PSUAC teams that made the playoffs was two goals, a 3-1 win over New Kensington. Other games included a draw and two one-goal games, but did not allow more than a single goal in any conference contest.

#2 Penn State York (9-1-3, 7-0-2 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Ben Zimmerman (12 goals); Zak Moutawakil (4 goals)

Other Players to Watch: Vekaz Tihic (11 assists); Gavin Martinez (11 goals allowed in 12 games)

One Stat: Recorded six shutouts on the season, including a 0-0 draw against top seed Lehigh Valley.

#3 Penn State Greater Allegheny (8-7-2, 6-2-1 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Max Whitson (13 goals); Mason Haffa (6 goals)

Other Players to Watch: Cameron Downey (4 goals, 5 assists); Chris Klinger (.794 save percentage)

One Stat: Two conference losses were by a single goal each, allowing three total goals to the teams ahead of them in the seeding.

#4 Penn State New Kensington (7-8-3, 6-2-1 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Finn Bethurum (6 goals); Ethan Krystek (5 goals); Carson Zadylak (5 goals)

Other Players to Watch: Kenton Knox (goalie); Jacob Guerrini (4 goals, 5 assists)

One Stat: Scored 29 goals in conference in the month of October, winning 4 of its final 5 PSUAC games.

#5 Penn State Beaver (4-9-2, 4-4-1 PSUAC)

Top Scorers: Logan Gabriel (13 goals); Robert Chauvenne (10 goals)

Other Players to Watch: Michel Rahbani (4 goals, 3 assists)

One Stat: Beaver had a much better road record than at home, finishing 3-1-1 when traveling from Monaca.

MEN'S SCHEDULE

Wednesday, October 30th

Play-in: Beaver at New Kensington

Saturday, November 2nd

Semifinals: Greater Allegheny at York

Semifinals: Play-in Winner at Lehigh Valley

Tuesday, November 5th

Championship: Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m., Panzer Stadium