Widener to host doubleheader at PPL Park
| Derek Brubaker scored the
equalizer for Widener in the 2010 PPL Park game. Widener athletics photo |
Widener's soccer teams make a return trip to PPL Park in Chester
as part of a doubleheader Oct. 11 at the home of Major League
Soccer's Philadelphia Union.
The Pride will face Lycoming with the women's game starting at
5:00 pm and the men's contest beginning at 7:30 pm. This marks the
third time in four years Widener's soccer teams will play a
doubleheader at PPL Park.
Widener in 2010 and 2011 had the privilege of competing in the
stadium during its first two seasons, attracting crowd over 1,000
spectators each time.
The 2010 event saw Widener's women's team notch a 1-0 victory over
Wilkes with rising senior Victoria Batter scoring the first
collegiate goal in PPL Park history. The men rallied that night for
a 2-2 draw vs. Neumann as now-senior Derek Brubaker netted the
tying goal for the Pride.
The women returned in 2011 to post a 3-0 triumph over Lycoming
with present-senior Karen Thomas scoring in the second minute off a
feed from present-junior Jenna Pedrick Jenna Pedrick.
The games serve as a tremendous opportunity for Widener
University, which entered a partnership as the official university
of the Philadelphia Union, PPL Park and the Union's youth soccer
partner partners, EPYSA and DYSA. The multi-tiered partnership that
includes signage, television and web advertising spots not only
aims to promote the growth of youth soccer in Chester but also to
increase awareness of Widener University and its undergraduate and
graduate academic programs.
PPL Park features a picturesque view of the Commodore Barry Bridge
as well as the Delaware River. An average of more than 18,000 fans
have seen the Union compete at the stadium the first three
seasons.
