The Misericordia University women's soccer team will head to FDU-Florham on Wednesday for its first Freedom Conference playoff appearance since joining the league in 2008.

The Cougars (12-5-2, 3-3-1) grabbed a playoff spot late, needing an 80th minute strike from sophomore Laura Roney to defeat Wilkes 2-1 on Saturday and claim the fourth seed. FDU (13-5-2, 6-0-1) is the top seed after upsetting defending champion Eastern in their season finale.

The game will pair the Freedom Conference's top two statistical teams. The Cougars lead the league with 53 goals while the Devils have scored 51 times this season. Defensively, Misericordia has allowed a league-low 21 total goals, just ahead of FDU-Florham's 22.

The Misericordia attack is led by senior Kim Suchoski and sophomores Roney and Sam Helmstetter.

Suchoski has a team-high 15 goals, good for third in the conference. Roney has seven goals and 11 assists, the second-highest single-season total in MU history. Helmstetter (8g, 6a) is also in the Freedom top-10 for scoring.

Senior defender Jenn Brucker has been a crucial part of the Misericordia defense, while classmate Morgan Myers has started every game in goal for the Cougars.

The Devils are led by forward Brittany Kanickij (17g, 5a), the conference leading scorer. Senior Lora Fink leads the conference with 14 assists and has also added 10 goals.

Junior goalkeeper Lauren Albrecht has a 0.89 GAA in 11 starts, with six shutouts and a stellar 8-1-2 record.

Interestingly, Misericordia is the only Freedom team to enter the playoffs on a multiple-game unbeaten streak after concluding its season with wins over Gwynedd-Mercy and Wilkes.

Earlier in the season, Misericordia hosted FDU and fell 2-1 despite holding huge advantages in shots (21-9) and corner kicks (8-1). The Cougars were undone by two breakdowns in the back despite controlling the play throughout the contest.

“We like how we played against FDU last time,” said head coach Mark Stauffer. “We're just looking for a different result and if we play to our potential we should get it.”