After finishing in the top five in the Commonwealth Conference in saves and saves per game, Lycoming College women's soccer sophomore goalkeeper Sam Stropko, an Athens graduate, was named Honorable Mention All-Commonwealth Conference, the conference office in Annville announced on Friday.
Stropko moved into the starting keeper role at the beginning of the season and finished the year with 80 saves, fourth in the league, and 6.15 per game, third in the conference.
Stropko was key in helping the Warriors post a scoreless stretch of 233:36 early in the season, posting a complete-game shutout against Keystone (making two saves) and then adding seven stops in 65 scoreless minutes against SUNY Geneseo, helping her earn Commonwealth Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 17.
The Athens Area graduate had eight games with five or more stops and against Elizabethtown, she posted a career-high 18 saves, which was also the second-most in the conference this season.
Stropko is the fifth goalkeeper in school history to earn all-conference honors and the first since Jessica Bennett was a second-team pick in 2007.
The Warriors finished 2-13-3 under second-year head coach Matt Dunn.
TOWANDA
GRAD SHINES
Towanda graduate Anthony Ventello's season concluded at Paul Smith as they fell to the University of Maine, Machais, 3-2.
Ventello scored on a direct kick in the loss.
Ventello is a junior attacking midfielder for Paul Smith's.
He was nominated as captain his sophomore year and he was the conference rookie of the year as a freshman.
Ventello is 34th nationally in the USCAA rankings in goals with seven. He has two assists and 16 points on the season. His 16 points rank 43rd nationally.
PENN COLLEGE
SOCCCER
Athens graduate David Munn was ranked 28th in the USCAA rankings for goals against average this year. He has a goals against of 1.72 in 17 games, with 14 starts.
He is 10-3 on the year with six shutouts.
Sophomore Blayne Allen (Trumbull, Conn.) notched a goal as no. 7 Pennsylvania College of Technology men's soccer lost 3-1 to #3 Concordia College (Ala.) at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Soccer Championships.
The game was consolation for the Wildcats who lost their opening round match yesterday.
Concordia scored two unanswered goals in the first half in the 30th and 36th minutes. Allen cut the lead in half at the 83rd with an unassisted goal, but Concordia gave itself cushion netting a ball in the 88th.
Munn had two saves in the game.
Penn College outshot Concordia 9-5.
The game is the final for the Wildcats who finish out their season 15-4-1.
TROY GRADS
Penn State Altoona men's soccer was eliminated from the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament on Thursday when they were defeated 5-1 by Penn State Behrend in the tournament's semifinal round.
Troy graduates Geoffrey Debach and Justin Fitzwater play for Altoona.
Debach had one assist in eight games this year and Fitzwater played three games in goal, with two starts, and a 3.44 goals-against-average.
Behrend, the top seed in the tournament, will host #2 seed Medaille College on Saturday, Nov. 3 in the AMCC Championship.
Penn State Altoona found itself down 1-0 at halftime after Behrend got a goal from Jake Gamble at 24:50.
The second half featured a flurry of offense early in the period, as both teams combined for five goals in the span of 7:12.
Scores by Behrend at 58:20 and 60:27 made it 3-0.
The Lions got on the board at 61:34 when Dan Kennedy (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) found the back of the net to cut his team's deficit to 3-1.
But Behrend added two more goals to its lead, holding a 5-1 advantage by 65:32.
VOLLEYBALL
The Pennsylvania College of Technology women's volleyball team lost both of its opening round matches on day one of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Championships.
The Wildcats played two of their four group play matches on the opening day. Against no. 1 Daeman in the opening round, sophomore Kelly Hebert, a Wellsboro graduate, was big at the net with three blocks.
"[Daeman] had strong setters who kept our blockers guessing," said head coach Bambi Hawkins. "Kelly was huge at the net for us even with those setters."
Penn College lost in straight sets 25-13, 25-10. Sophomore Melissa Lake (Winburne) led the team with three kills while freshman Gabrielle George (Morton) did the same in digs with nine.
Sophomore Caitlyn Curley (Middletown) had 11 assists. Against UC-Clermont, the Wildcats lost 25-16, 25-18.
"In the second set of this match we were stronger than we have been so far," said Hawkins.
"Tara Powell's consistent hitting and strong serve receives were key in keeping us in the match."
Powell had seven kills while Hebert and sophomore Courtney Gernert (Palmyra) each added five.
Junior Rachel Heller (Allison Park) stepped in as libero in the second set and notched two digs. Gernert and George both led with five digs apiece.
Also for Penn College, freshman Morgan Moberg (Huntingdon) had nine assists while Curley had 8.
The Wildcats will finish up group play on Saturday, Nov. 3 taking on Carlow University at 11:30 a.m. and host SUNY-Canton at 2:30 p.m.
