College Soccer
Jefferson, Neumann, Penn State Abington win conference titles, qualify for NCAAs
New conference, same result.
Neumann men’s soccer wrapped up their inaugural season in the MAC Commonwealth conference Saturday with their fourth straight conference title, lifting a trophy in the MAC for the first time after a late penalty kick from Jordian Illian produced the game’s only goal seconds from going into overtime.
The 1-0 win over Messiah snapped a streak of 7 straight conference titles for the Falcons. The Knights won their 7th conference title, adding to their three straight Atlantic East conference tournament championships and three Colonial States Athletic Conference titles they won in 2010, 2011 and 2014.
The Knights joined two other area men’s soccer teams capturing conference titles, including Rowan’s PK shootout win over Montclair State on Friday in the NJAC final and Penn State Abington’s 2-0 win over Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday to win the United East title. Penn State Abington’s conference title is their first since they won the conference (then known as the NEAC) in 2017 and 2018.
The Jefferson women were the lone women’s program from the area to win their conference final over the weekend, blowing out Georgian Court 5-0 to win their second CACC Championship in their last three seasons. The Rams booked a spot in the NCAA Division II Women’s Tournament as a result of the convincing win.
Rowan women fell at home on penalty kicks to TCNJ in the NJAC women’s final on Saturday after a scoreless 90 minutes. The scoreless draw spoiled the Profs’ perfect season (15-0-1) but they still have a strong enough resume to earn an at large bid. Swarthmore women fell 1-0 on an 81st minute goal on Friday night at home to Dickinson in the Centennial semifinal while Haverford came up short in the men’s final on Sunday in Baltimore to Johns Hopkins.
The NCAA Division III selection show for the men’s and women’s tournaments will be held on Monday.
