WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — For the third year in a row, the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s soccer team will play for a United East Conference championship on Penn State Harrisburg’s field. This time, it gets there on a goal from a Leonardtown first-year.
Charlotte Bryan finished a pass from Gracie Tourangeau in the 50th minute and sophomore goalkeeper Breanna Brown made it stand with six saves as the third-seeded Seahawks beat second-seeded Penn College 1-0 on the road Wednesday, Nov. 4, in the conference semifinals, according to the SMCM athletics recap.
St. Mary’s (9-8-3) now faces Penn State Harrisburg in the final at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in Middletown, Pa. The title carries the United East’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, and it would be the Seahawks’ first after losing the last two finals to the Lions on penalty kicks.
How it happened
The first half was even. St. Mary’s put up seven shots, and Brown made three saves to keep the Wildcats off the board, sending the match to halftime scoreless.
The breakthrough came at 49:33. Tourangeau, a junior forward from Sykesville, found Bryan, who scored her sixth goal of the season. It is the second time in as many weeks Bryan has been the difference: she scored in the Seahawks’ 5-0 win over Cairn in late October.
Penn College (13-5-1) pushed hard after that, taking nine second-half shots. Brown, a Broadneck High graduate from Arnold, turned away all of them that reached her, finishing with six saves for the shutout. She was named the United East’s defensive player of the week back in September.
The win came three days after St. Mary’s routed Penn State Abington 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
By the numbers
| Stat | No. 3 SMCM | No. 2 Penn College |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 1 | 0 |
| Shots | 12 | 15 |
| Shots on goal | 8 | 6 |
| Saves | 6 | 7 |
| Corner kicks | 5 | 6 |
| Fouls | 18 | 10 |
| Offsides | 1 | 0 |
Bryan led St. Mary’s with three shots, two on goal. Keira O’Neail and Addy Campbell each had two shots.
A rivalry decided from the spot
Saturday’s final is a rematch of the last two. In 2024, the Seahawks went 17-2-3, played Penn State Harrisburg to a scoreless draw through regulation and two overtimes in Middletown, and lost 4-3 on penalty kicks, according to the college’s 2024 recap.
Last November it happened again: St. Mary’s tied the Lions in the final and fell short in the shootout, the conference reported.
This season’s lone meeting went to Harrisburg, 2-0, on Sept. 29 at St. Mary’s City. The Seahawks have been a different team since the playoffs began, outscoring their two postseason opponents 7-1 after a regular season in which they finished below .500 before the tournament.
The final will be streamed live through the SMCM athletics website.
