Three losses in a four-game midseason stretch made things difficult, but the Seton Hill women’s soccer team believes there is a clear path leading to the PSAC Tournament for a third consecutive season.

If the Griffins average four points per week — teams earn three points for a victory, one for a draw — the rest of the way, that goal should be achieved.

Getting there won’t be easy, and Seton Hill (6-8 overall, 6-6 PSAC-West) missed out on an opportunity with a 1-0 loss to Clarion on Saturday that followed a 2-0 win Wednesday against Pitt-Johnstown. It dropped the Griffins to fifth place, but they’re just a game behind third-place IUP and trail fourth-place Mercyhurst by a half-game.

And, with seniors Italia Biondi and Katie Kimmich, pacing the attack, Seton Hill likes its chances to finish strong

“It’s difficult to put into words how important those two are to us,” first-year coach Zak Kruger said. “They play with energy. They play with passion. They both have a family mindset and are key to upholding our standard of play. That’s why they’re having such good seasons.”

Biondi, a Penn-Trafford graduate, played two seasons at Duquesne — she appeared in 41 games and made 10 starts there — before taking a redshirt in 2017 in her first year at Seton Hill. Last season, Biondi’s impact was immediate. In 18 starts, she scored a team-leading 10 goals and 23 points to earn second-team All-PSAC honors.

This season, Biondi again leads the Griffins with seven goals, four assists and 18 points. The 5-foot-6 forward scored twice and had an assist in a Sept. 14 win against Gannon, which earned her PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors. And her penalty-kick conversion Wednesday sealed the win over Pitt-Johnstown.

“I definitely think we’ve hit a stretch of must-win games,” Biondi said. “And they’re definitely winnable games. We have to get the job done.”

Biondi has gotten her job done. The same can be said for Kimmich, a Franklin Regional graduate who often plays behind Biondi in Seton Hill’s formation.

The 5-3 senior has six goals, which ties her total from her sophomore season when she was third-team All-PSAC, and four assists for 16 points.

A four-year starter, Kimmich has helped Seton Hill grow into a consistent PSAC Tournament contender.

“My freshman year, we didn’t make the playoffs, and that was a tough pill to swallow,” Kimmich said. “Last year, we lost a tough game to Millersville (in the first round), but we made it last year and we’re determined to get back.”

Biondi and Kimmich are part of a large corps of senior contributors with minutes leader and defender Sammantha Jackson, defender Hope Creamer (Greensburg Salem), defender Sawyer Patrick, grad student and midfielder/forward Shamika Langevine, goalkeeper Elyza Pilatowski-Herzing and midfielder Any Lynch, who shares captain duties with Biondi.

The group helped to make the coaching transition easier for Kruger, a former assistant at Shippensburg and Millersville who replaced Andy McNab. Biondi and Kimmich, former high school opponents who are roommates, helped by welcoming the incoming freshmen and playing their best soccer.

“Well, we both have our share of goals, but we work off of each other really well,” Biondi said. “We’re on the same page. We can make eye contact and know what ball the other wants. It’s been a really good thing.”

With, possibly, better things to come.

“When I was playing soccer in high school, I was like, ‘I have four more years of soccer left,’ ” Kimmich said. “Now, I’m like, ‘Oh, crap. How much more soccer can I play?’ … We have five more games in the regular season, and we want to do everything we can to make it last longer than that.”

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