IMMACULATA, Pa.- Following their 1-0 overtime win over Gwynedd Mercy in the Atlantic East Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon, the fourth seed Mighty Macs will travel to play second seed Marywood on tonight in the Atlantic East Semifinals at 6:00 PM.

This will be the Mighty Macs second consecutive trip to the Atlantic East Semifinals.

"We are so excited! The team's resilience this season has paid off," stated Head Coach Kate Stopford. "They echo each other with a common admiration for the team's unity, grit, determination, and ambition. Our returners are grateful to have this opportunity again."

"I am so proud how far our team has come since our freshman year," stated senior Lauren Buckel. "I can't wait to see how far we can go."

Season Match Up

Immaculata fell at Marywood 4-1 in their lone meeting of the season on October 17, 2023. Senior Lauren Buckel scored 1:52 into the game to give the Mighty Macs an early 1-0 lead. Marywood responded 0:18 later to even the score at 1-1. The Pacers went on to take the game 4-1.

Scouting Marywood

Marywood enters tonight's Atlantic East Semifinals as the No. 2 seed in the conference after finishing their season 5-1 in conference play. Their only conference loss came at the hands of No. 1 seed St. Mary's.

Marywood is led by Cydney Lahr, who had 19 goals and eight assists, and Dariane Jones with 14 goals and 12 assists. Goalkeeper Leah Ewing had a record of 9-3, with four shutouts, and a 1.12 goals-against average. Lauren Youngken, Brie Summer, and Cassie Slusser will provide contributions for the Pacers.

Mighty Macs Talk

Despite having fallen to Marywood in their earlier meeting, the team is confident they will bring a strong effort into tonight's game.

"The team is always holding themselves to high standards and will never settle for just doing OK," said Stopford. "I know they're going to be putting their best effort in against Marywood. They have identified areas of improvement and have fixed them."
"The team is ready and has been working hard to prepare for this moment" stated Kaitlin Gale.

The Mighty Macs have been led by seniors Lauren Vandenbraak, who led the team in scoring nine goals and seven assists and Lauren Buckel with four goals and one assist. Junior goalkeeper Julia Levase was twice named Atlantic East Conference Defensive Player of the Week this season, has registered five shutouts, and has a 2.17 goals-against average.

The Mighty Macs will get strong contributions from Della George, Abby Fekete, Jillian Vandenbraak, and Gabrielle O'Brien. Kaitlin Gale, Madalyn Bonner, and Rachel Madden will provide contributions on the defensive side.

A key to the Mighty Macs success this season, had been their ability to thrive in close games. In conference play this season including Saturday's quarterfinal win, the Macs won four, one goal games, including three in overtime. In all games this season, the Mighty Macs went 4-1 in games decided in overtime or shootout. Della George and Julia Levase credit these wins to the team's unity and hard work.

"The team dynamic is different this year, in a positive way, from years past," said Madalyn Bonner. "No matter what the outcome is, the team will be working it's hardest and will look at this season with pride."

"Even when everyone thought this team could not make it this far," concluded Lauren Vandenbraak. "We did it two years in a row. The team has earned this opportunity, and we deserve to be here."  

Up Next

The winner of tonight's game will play the winner of the No. 4 Cabrini at No. 1 St. Mary's Semifinal in the Atlantic East Championship Game on Saturday, November 4^th.