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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 22nd-ranked Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will face 10th-ranked California (Pa.) in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Division II National Tournament Sunday at 1 p.m. at Roadman Park.
The Rock, the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Region, earned a trip to the second round with a 3-1 win over West Virginia Wesleyan in the opening round Friday.
California earned the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Region and with it a first round bye and the right to host the opening two rounds.
The Rock is making its sixth appearance in the NCAA tournament on the strength of a 13-3-4 overall record, including a 9-0-4 mark in the last 13 games.
Live statistics for the second round match will be provided by the California sports information office and can be accessed via the link at the top of this page.
Live Twitter updates will also be provided throughout the game, courtesy of the Slippery Rock sports information office. To follow the Rock Athletics official Twitter account, visit the link at the top of this page.
Ticket prices for Sunday's game are mandated by the NCAA and set at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students from participating schools (with valid college ID). Children ages 2-12 will also be admitted for $5.
Game Notes
Back to Nationals: The Rock returns to the national tournament for the fourth time in the last five years after missing a berth in last season's tournament. Slippery Rock owns a 4-5 overall record in the tournament and has reached the regional final twice before this year (2001 and 2008).
In the Rankings: Slippery Rock jumped into the national rankings for the first time this week at No. 22 when the NSCAA/Hendrickcars.com Division II rankings were released. The Rock finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the Atlantic Region by the NCAA Women's Soccer Committee.
California has been consistently ranked in the top-25 in the nation all season and has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the region in every regional poll. The Vulcans come into Sunday's game as the No. 10 team in the nation and the No. 2 team in the region.
Head Coaches: Noreen Herlihy is in her 16th season at the helm of the Slippery Rock program. She has produced 15 consecutive winning seasons, including 13 consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins, and owns a career record of 194-92-22. Herlihy has guided the team to two PSAC championships and six NCAA appearances.
Al Alvine is in his fourth season as the head coach at California, where he has turned a four-win program into a perennial contender in the region. Alvine has led the Vulcans to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments after posting a school record 19-win season last year. He was named PSAC-West and Atlantic Region Coach of the Year last year.
Scouting The Rock: Slippery Rock enters the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 14-3-4 and is currently riding a school record unbeaten streak of 14 consecutive games, dating back to a 3-0 loss against California Sept. 24. Since that game, The Rock has posted a 10-0-4 mark.
The Rock has outshot opponents 329-176 in 21 games this season and has outscored the opposition 38-18.
Shelby Ward leads the team in scoring with career-highs of 10 goals and one assist for 21 points.
Ashley Paganie ranks second on the team in scoring with six goals and six assists. She is tied for the school record with 25 career assists.
Danielle Turner ranks third in scoring with five goals and six assists after scoring one goal and handing out one assist in the opening round win over Wesleyan.
Kara Mullins ranks fourth in scoring with five goals and two assists and
Alison Hindley rounds out the double digit scorers with three goals and five assists.
Dana O'Neill has appeared in 15 games with 14 starts in goal and owns a record of 9-2-2 with eight shutouts. She has allowed just 10 goals for a goals against average of 0.68 and has made 40 saves for a save percentage of .800.
Hindley, Turner and
Emer Flatley all earned second team All-PSAC honors when the All-Conference team was announced last Wednesday. That trio was joined by
Rachel Knapp and Mullins on the third team.
Scouting the Vulcans: California owns a record of 18-1-2 on the season and is outscoring the opposition by a remarkable 59-7 margin. The seven goals allowed give the Vulcans a team goals against average of just 0.33.
Coming into Sunday's match, the Vulcans have gone over 500 minutes and five complete games without allowing a goal, including 110 minutes against No. 4 West Chester in the PSAC title game, a 0-0 tie that ended with WCU winning the title in penalty kicks.
The Vulcans are led in scoring by PSAC Freshman of the Year Bethany Smyda, who has 16 goals and 10 assists for 42 points. Sam Regney ranks second in scoring with eight goals and nine assists, followed by Carley Work with six goals and four assists, Tonya Fabian with five goals and five assists, Kamilla Lillefjaere with three goals and six assists and Kayla Fransko with five goals and one assist to cap the double digit scorers.
Paula Jackson has started in all 21 games this season in goal. She owns a record of 18-1-2 with 13 shutouts. She has allowed six goals for a goals against average of 0.29 and has made 65 saves for a save percentage of .915.
Cal placed more players on the All-PSAC squad than any other school with seven selections. Smyda, Regney, Jackson and Kayla Klimasko all earned first team honors. Sara DiBenedetto, Kristen Orrett and Work were all named to third team honors.
Last Meeting: California earned a 3-0 victory over Slippery Rock Sept. 24 at Egli Field. In that game, the team's played to a fairly even scoreless tie through the first 45 minutes before Cal broke open a three-goal second half to earn the win.
Slippery Rock posted a 5-4 edge in shots in the first half but the Vulcans finished the game with advantages of 12-8 in shots and 7-3 in shots on goal. Corner kicks were even at two for each team.
One of the three goals scored was an own goal, kicked in by a Rock defender. The other two goals were scored by Chaning Wimer, who also had an assist, and Bethany Smyda.
Paula Jackson earned the win in goal with three saves.
Alli Bird took the loss in goal for SRU, allowing three goals and recording four saves.
