Scranton, Pa. — Top-seeded Marywood University will host No. 6 Gwynedd Mercy in the Atlantic East Conference women's soccer semifinal on Tuesday. The Pacers take on the Griffins at 6 p.m. at Pacers Turf Field.

The semifinal winner will play for an Atlantic East title and NCAA Division III tournament berth on Saturday. 

Marywood Activities Council will have treats and candy for students in attendance. 
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. GWYNEDD MERCY: Marywood holds an 18-10-2 record (.633) all-time vs. the Griffins. The Pacers have a nine-game winning streak against Gwynedd Mercy, dating back to the 2015 season. Marywood has won its past two postseason games against the Griffins. In their last postseason matchup, Marywood beat Gwynedd Mercy 4-2 in the 2017 Colonial States Athletic Conference semifinal, thanks to a two-goal Julie Youngman performance. Marywood had a 4-2 postseason record against Gwynedd Mercy. It is the first postseason competition between the two programs in the Atlantic East Conference era.

LAST TIME OUT: During the regular season, the Pacers blanked the Griffins 3-0 in the Electric City. Riley Mulherin finished with a goal and an assist in the win. Marywood scored twice in the seven-minute span to take an early lead. Kate Kollar-Dye scored her lone goal of the season off a Josephine Sorce corner kick in the 12th minute. Isabel Shore put in a rebound attempt shortly after. Senior Shannon MacDougall made a team save on the Griffins' lone shot on goal to preserve the shutout.

FOURTH TIME IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: Marywood holds the top seed in the Atlantic East Conference playoffs for the fourth straight time. The Pacers are 1-1-1 as the No. 1 seed in title games. Marywood won the Atlantic East title in the lone season that it did not hold the top seed. 

DEFENDING CHAMPS: Marywood looks for its first repeat championship in program history. The Pacers previously won the Atlantic East championship in 2018 and 2022. Marywood won Colonial States Athletic Conference titles in 2008 and 2016. Marywood has sights on making its fourth NCAA Division III tournament appearance. 
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE: In the first round, Gwynedd Mercy advanced over No. 3 Cabrini University after regulation and two overtime periods of scoreless soccer. The Griffins prevailed 4-3 in shootouts. Marywood captured the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye with a 4-1-1 record in conference play..

SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS: Gwynedd Mercy (7-4-6) has tied its last three games leading up to the Atlantic East semifinal. Scoreless in its last two contests, the Griffins have not found the back of the net in 230 consecutive minutes; meanwhile, the Gwynedd Mercy defense has kept opponents scoreless for 207 straight minutes. Gwynedd Mercy went 6-3-2 in non-conference play. It earned a 3-2 win over Wilson leading up to Atlantic East play. After their ' 3-0 loss to Lancaster Bible dropped their record to 2-3 on the season, Gwynedd Mercy went on an eight-game undefeated streak that came to a halt in its loss to Gwynedd Mercy. Since that loss the Chargers, the Griffins are 5-1-6 in the past six weeks. 

It is the first time the Griffins will be competing in a conference semifinal since the 2017 season in the CSAC. Gwynedd Mercy is 0-1 in Atlantic East postseason play. Gwynedd Mercy has won 

SCOUTING THE PACERS: Marywood opened the season with a difficult non-conference schedule. After dropping the first two games to Swarthmore and No. 16 Scranton, Marywood posted a 3-0 decision over Eastern to get into the win column. A pair of losses to Franklin & Marshall and FDU-Florham set up a 2-2 tie against Kean and a 4-2 win over Alvernia. A one-goal setback to Wilkes was the last loss the Pacers suffered in a 24-day span, closing up a non-conference slate with back-to-back wins over Lancaster Bible and SUNY Canton. Marywood's six-game undefeated streak (5-0-1) and an 18-game Atlantic East unbeaten streak came to a halt in a 2-0 loss to Marymount on the road. Marywood capped its regular season with a 7-0 shutout of Immaculata. The Pacers have five clean sheets on the season. 
Josephine Sorce, jr., mid.: Sorce is ranked second in NCAA Division III in both assists (13) and assists per game (.81). She trails Old Westbury's Mia Almonte by one assist and The College of New Jersey's Emma Pascarella by .06 assists per game. The reigning Atlantic East Player of the Week, Sorce broke the Marywood career assists record with a three-assist performance versus Immaculata. Her 32 career assists surpass Julie Youngman (2015-18) and Rebecca Grubb (2001-02). Sorce has six goals, 13 assists and 25 points. 

Riley Mulherin, jr., fwd.: Mulherin led the Atlantic East with 19 goals on the season — the fourth-best in program history. In NCAA Division III, Mulherin ranks 14th in total goals and 17th in total points (41). She is 13th in goals (1.19) and 17th in points per game (2.56). The Clarks Summit, Pa. native sits 43rd in game-winning goals (four). 

Kate Kollar-Dye, grad., fwd.: The fifth-year player produced a pair of assists in a 10-second span in the Pacers' regular season win over Immaculata. With a goal and five assists on the season, Kollar-Dye has proved to be a playmaker in big moments throughout her career. Kollar-Dye was selected the Atlantic East Tournament Most Valuable Player in last season's championship run. 

Isabel Shore, so., mid.: Shore scored one of her two goals of the season during the Pacers' 3-0 win over the Griffins in the regular season. 

Shannon MacDougall, sr., def.: MacDougall made a late team save to preserve the Pacers' clean sheet against the Griffins in their last matchup. 

Madisson Ronn, so., gk.: Ronn kept Cabrini scoreless for 110 minutes in Gwynedd Mercy's 0-0 (4-3 PKs) advance. She made 13 saves over the Griffins. She stopped eight shots in 45 minutes against the Pacers during the regular season. 

Ksenia Semenovykh, fr., fwd: Semenovykh leads the Atlantic East in shots (4.35 p/g) and shots on goal (2.71 p/g). She ranks second behind Mulherin in goals with 12 on the season. Semenovykh scored her first career hat trick in a 3-2 victory over Wilson on Sept. 27.