Nov. 4, 2007
Final Stats
West Chester, Pa. -
Hosting West Chester claimed its second successive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship Sunday with a 2-0 win over The Rock in the championship game of the conference playoffs.
The 19th-ranked Golden Rams' first goal came on a penalty kick with 19 minutes left to play. The hosts added an insurance tally with four minutes remaining while The Rock was pushing its attack forward in hopes of scoring the equalizing goal.
Sunday's loss denied the 13th-ranked Rock its third successive odd-year conference championship. SRU captured the conference crown in both 2003 and 2005.
The Rock (16-4-1) will now await Monday on its quest for a second successive appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
SRU was ranked second in last week's Northeast Regional poll. West Chester, which earned an automatic berth in the NCAA playoffs with its win Sunday, was ranked fifth in last week's regional poll.
The Golden Rams outshot SRU by a 15-6 margin Sunday. Rock goalie Lauren McManus was credited with six saves.
Sunday's outcome gave West Chester revenge for a 3-1 loss Oct. 20 to The Rock on Bob DiSpirito Field at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.
That complicates the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Committee's decision-making process on Monday.
The No. 1 and 2 teams in Monday's final regional poll (scheduled for release at 5 p.m.) will host games next weekend (Nov. 9-11), unless their facilities are deemed unsuitable by the committee.
Those top two teams also earn a first-round bye in the NCAA playoffs and will play the winner of a Friday first-round game in second-round action next Sunday. So a lot of people will be sitting on the proverbial pins and needles awaiting Monday's announcement of the final regional poll.
The Rock would appear to be in good position to host games next weekend in light of the fact that Bridgeport and Adelphi, the two teams ranked directly below SRU in last week's regional poll, both lost Friday in semifinal action of the East Coast Conference tournament.
C.W. Post, the No. 1 team in last week's regional poll, won a 5-0 decision over Dowling, the No. 6 team in the regional poll, in the ECC title game Sunday and joined West Chester as automatic qualifiers for the Northeast Regional tournament.
The losses Friday by Bridgeport and Adelphi would appear to leave only West Chester to challenge SRU for a host role next weekend. But, in order for WCU to be awarded a host role, the committee would need to move the Golden Rams up three notches in the regional poll and ahead of SRU.
Rewind to the fact that SRU and WCU each won a game in their head-to-head series this fall; neither team has an advantage in that all-important tiebreaker criteria.
SRU has never hosted an NCAA regional soccer game in either women's or men's competition. West Chester hosted and won last year's women's regional tournament.
Notes:
The Rock seeks its fifth trip to the NCAA playoffs. SRU advanced to the regional finals in 2001, its first trip to the national playoffs, before it dropped semifinal decisions in both 2003 and 2006.
Sunday's game was The Rock's third appearance in the PSAC title game in the last five seasons.
The Rock set a school record for single-season wins Friday with its 2-0 win over Edinboro in PSAC semifinal action at Thompson Stadium.
The Rock has won 10 or more games in 10 straight seasons and 11 times in Noreen Herlihy's 13 seasons as The Rock's head coach.
Friday's win over Edinboro came in SRU's fifth straight trip to the conference semifinals, which is the longest current string of success in the PSAC.
