The Lancaster Bible College women's soccer team hopes to continue its first season of success in the North Eastern Athletic Conference [NEAC] this weekend when they host the conference semi-finals and final. The top-seeded Chargers will host fifth seeded Penn St. Berks in the first semi-final [Saturday, 11:30 a.m.], while second seeded Penn St. Abington will square off with third seeded Penn St. Harrisburg in the second semi-final [Saturday, 2:00 p.m.]

#1 Lancaster Bible College
Record: 17-1 overall, 11-0 NEAC
Led by: Ally Brown [17 goals, 12 assists, 46 points, 7 game-winning goals], Whitney Heise [15 goals, 4 assists, 34 points, 5 game-winning goals], a very good defense that has only allowed eight goals all year.
Fast Fact: The Chargers haven't lost at home since Sept. 1, 2010 [Alvernia, 3-1]
Why LBC will be NEAC Champ: They haven't lost to anyone in the NEAC and have been in very few close NEAC games...Plus, [homer alert], they're a very good team and are very motivated to win.
Why they might not win: They have played a lot more laughers than close games and playoff soccer is different than the regular season...Other than that [again, home alert], there are very few reasons the Chargers won't get the school's first-ever NCAA Championship berth.
Quotes: "We've had great practices this week and since we haven't played in over a week, we are ready to finally play a game." - Whitney Heise
-"As a team, we want to finish this season the right way. I think it finally it us how big of a deal this is and we really want to be the first team at LBC to earn an NCAA berth." - Jenna Godwin
-"It's a great opportunity for not only our soccer program, but LBC as whole. We want to take that next step as a program." -

#2 Penn St. Abington
Record: 15-1 overall, 11-1 NEAC
Led by: Brittney Middleton [11 goals, 5 assists, 27 points], Adrianna Rodriguez [10 goals, 1 assist, 21 points], GK Gabrielle Benedict [15-1, 0.87 G.A.A., 63 saves].
Fast Fact: Only loss came to LBC on Sept. 22 by a score of 3-0.
Why Penn St. Abington will be NEAC Champ: They have outplayed everyone they've played except LBC...Should they make the NEAC Final and face LBC, they would get a chance at redemption and would love to beat LBC on their home field for the program's first NEAC title...Also, Benedict is a very good goalkeeper and could win them the title.
Why they might not win: The game against LBC in September wasn't even as close as 3-0 would indicate...Without Benedict's 17 saves, it probably would have been 6-0...Their semi-final opponent, Penn St. Harrisburg, is a good team as well.

#3 Penn St. Harrisburg
Record: 10-4 overall, 8-3 NEAC - defeated #6 SUNYIT, 1-0 in NEAC Quarter-Finals
Led by: Nikki Francis [10 goals, 4 assists, 24 points, 4 game-winning goals], Lindsay Haldeman [5 goals, 6 assists, 16 points], GK Janelle Hammond [9-4, 0.98 G.A.A., 41 saves].
Fast Fact: Only allowed 12 goals this season.
Why Penn St. Harrisburg will be NEAC Champ: They are the only team in the NEAC this season that held a lead on LBC...The Nittany Lions led LBC, 1-0 until the Chargers scored three times in the final 20 minutes...They are the only team in the NEAC Final Four that has ever won a NEAC title [2009].
Why they might not win: If Penn St. Harrisburg is going to win the NEAC, they are going to have to beat the two best teams in the NEAC, on back-to-back days...They did play well in a 2-1 loss to Penn St. Abington two weeks ago, but beating Abington and LBC would be a tall order.

#5 Penn St. Berks
Record: 9-7-1 overall, 7-3-1 NEAC - defeated #4 Keuka, 1-0 in NEAC Quarter-Finals
Led by: Lyndsay Naughton [10 goals, 3 assists, 23 points, 4 game-winning goals], Alexa Shumate [3 goals, 5 assists, 11 points].
Fast Fact: Penn St. Berks is 5-1 in its last six road games.
Why Penn St. Berks will be NEAC Champ: They have nothing to lose...They already upset a higher-seeded team in Keuka...They know how to win on the road...Underdogs can be dangerous for top-seeded teams...Anything can happen in a win-or-go-home situation.
Why they might not win: They lost to LBC, 4-1 already this season and have scored 39 fewer goals than LBC...They have scored 28 goals and nine of them came in a 9-1 win over Wilson in September...They too will have to beat the top seed an another good team to win the title.

The winners of Saturday's semi-finals will meet in the NEAC Final at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.