SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna University women’s lacrosse team will open its quest for its first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference championship when the Crusaders host Widener on Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the West Lacrosse Field in the MAC semifinals. Admission is free of charge.

The game is a rematch of last year’s semifinal game in which the Crusaders defeated the Pioneers by a 6-4 score. The winner of Wednesday’s game will face either top-seeded Drew or fourth-seeded Scranton in Saturday’s finals. Last season, the Crusaders lost 10-9 to Drew in triple overtime as the Rangers won their eighth straight MAC title.

The Crusaders (10-4 overall, 7-1 MAC) enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak following a 14-7 loss at Drew on Saturday afternoon. The loss prevented Susquehanna from earning the top seed in the conference playoffs for the second straight season.

Widener (9-6 overall, 5-3 MAC) vaulted into the number-three seed in the playoffs after winning its final three conference games, including a 14-7 win over Elizabethtown on Saturday.

The teams met in Selinsgrove on April 13, with the Crusaders using a second-half surge to break a halftime tie and defeat Widener 10-5. Susquehanna has won five straight home games and went 6-2 on the West Lacrosse Field this season.

Susquehanna is led by senior attack Krista O’Brien (Sykesville, MD/Liberty H.S.), who has scored 36 goals and dished out 20 assists for 56 points this season and is the school’s all-time leader in goals (165), assists (64) and points (229). Junior Giulia Umile (Blue Bell, PA/Gwynedd Mercy Academy) has played every minute in goal and is nationally ranked in both goals against average (7.93) and save percentage (.595).

The Pioneers have four players with 20 or more goals this season, including a team-high 30 from freshman Lauren Goane. Goalkeeper Erin Patterson has fashioned a 7.95 goals against average and a save percentage of .657.