Nov. 4, 2005

Final Stats

Indiana, Pa. - Julie Lineman converted an assist from Julie Kirwan into the game's only goal with 2:38 left to play Friday afternoon as The Rock dethroned defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion Indiana U. of Pa., 1-0, in PSAC semifinal playoff action.

The win propels The Rock into the conference finals for the second time in three seasons and rekindles SRU's bid for an NCAA postseason berth.

The Rock goes in search of its second PSAC title when it travels to Kutztown for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday. The Rock won the 2003 title with a 4-3 victory over Lock Haven on SRU's James W. Egli Soccer Field.

Kutztown recorded a major upset Friday when it handed No. 4 West Chester its first loss of the season, 1-0, in the other PSAC semifinal game.

Rock goalie Jen McCormick stood tall in net Friday as she recorded eight saves en route to her 11th shutout of the season.

The Rock outshot Indiana by a 17-15 margin.

Friday's game was the third meeting of the season between The Rock and Indiana. The teams battled to a 0-0 tie in double overtime in Indiana on Sept. 10 before Indiana won 1-0 decision Nov. 11 on Egli Field.

Prior to Friday's win over Indiana and Kutztown's win over West Chester, The Rock was thought to have no chance of earning an NCAA postseason berth. But Friday's results give SRU hope.

West Chester, which began Friday's action ranked first in the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional poll, is assured of an NCAA berth.

Kutztown, the No. 5 team in the latest NCAA regional poll, could lock up a regional tournament berth with a win Sunday as well.

A Rock win over Kutztown would put pressure on the NCAA selection committee to award SRU a berth in the regional tournament, even though SRU was not ranked in the top eight of last week's poll.

A year ago, the NCAA selection committee awarded Indiana a postseason berth in the wake of its PSAC championship effort despite the fact that the Indians were not among the top seven teams in the final regular-season regional poll.

New Haven, Bridgeport and C.W. Post are ranked 2-3-4 in the latest NCAA regional poll and Adelphi is No. 6. The Rock would have to jump ahead of all four of those teams to receive an NCAA berth.

The Rock entered Friday's game ranked eighth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Northeast Regional poll. West Chester was ranked first, Kutztown sixth and Indiana seventh.

The NSCAA poll has no bearing upon the recipients of NCAA postseason berths.