Penn Women's Soccer Ends Year With Loss in Regional Semifinals

Chicago, Ill.--The Lady Statesmen soccer team had their season end at the NAIA Region VII Tournament for the fourth year in a row, falling to St. Xavier (Ill.) in the semifinals, 3-0, Friday. Lindsay Hough (Jr., Coto De Caza, Calif., Saddleback JC) led Penn (13-6-2, 6-1) with five shots as the Lady Statesmen finished on the short end of the shot battle, 13-10. Penn played with St. Xavier to a draw in the first half, but allowed two quick goals within the first ten minutes of the second stanza. The Cougars added another goal in the 60th minute, as they advance to meet Robert Morris (Ill.) in the regional championship game, Saturday, at 1:30 p.m. The loss ends the career of Analeigh Maxfield (Sr., South Jordan, Utah, Bingham HS), Trisha Merrill (Sr., Richmond, Utah, Sky View HS), Amber Blake (Sr., Huntington Beach, Calif., Orange Coast College), Katie Miller (Sr., Olympia, Wash., Capital HS), and Danielle Urban (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Cochise JC). Merrill, this year's 2004 Midwest Classic Conference Player of the Year, was a three-time all-Region VII performer and a two-time Honorable Mention All-American. Maxfield departs as one of Penn's top scorers with 62 points (20 G, 22 A) in four years on the Lady Statesmen roster, while Blake scored 27 points (10 G, 7 A) in her two-year career. Miller earned first-team all-MCC honors, while Urban garnered an honorable mention in the MCC this year.