Live Stats
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will travel to No. 4 West Chester Friday for the semifinal round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs. Kickoff has been set for 11 a.m.
Fifth-seeded Slippery Rock (13-3-3) remained unbeaten in its last 12th consecutive games with a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Bloomsburg in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Top-seeded West Chester (17-1-0) defeated eighth-seeded Shippensburg 1-0 Tuesday to advance to the semifinals. The Golden Rams only loss of the season came to Bloomsburg Sept. 25. They have won 10 consecutive games since then and have secured a No. 4 national ranking and the top ranking in the Atlantic Region.
The winner of the SRU-WCU semifinal will face the winner of the California (Pa.) vs. Kutztown match in the conference championship game Saturday at 11 a.m. at West Chester.
The Rock and West Chester met once this season, way back on Sept. 11 in West Chester. The Golden Rams came away from that game with a 3-0 win.
Live statistics will be provided for Friday's semifinal, courtesy of the West Chester sports information office. A link to the live statistic feed is available at the top of this release.
The Rock's sports information office will also be sending out live Twitter updates throughout the game. To follow the official Rock Athletics Twitter account, visit the link at the top of this release.
Ticket prices for the semifinals and finals are mandated by the league office at $7 for adults and $2 for students. All students with a valid college ID from a PSAC member institution will be admitted free.
Game Notes
Back to the Playoffs: Slippery Rock returns to the playoffs this season after missing a berth last year, which snapped a string of six consecutive appearances from 2003-08. This is the eighth trip to the playoffs for Slippery Rock, all of which have come under the guidance of
Noreen Herlihy. SRU claimed conference titles in 2003 and 2005.
West Chester is the defending conference champion and has won three of the last four titles. The Golden Rams have appeared in the conference semifinals in each of the last five seasons.
The Coaches: Herlihy is in her 16th season at Slippery Rock and owns a career record of 193-92-21. She has produced 15 winning seasons in her 16 years and has won 10 or more games in 13 consecutive seasons. She owns two conference titles and has made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley is in her third season as the head coach at West Chester. She has posted a record of 48-7-8 in that tenure and has led the team to the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous two years. She claimed the conference championship last season in her second year with the program.
Scouting The Rock: Slippery Rock enters the semifinals with an overall record of 13-3-3. The Rock is unbeaten in its last 12 games, posting a record of 9-0-3 over that stretch, tying a school record for most consecutive games without a loss. SRU was ranked third in the final regular season Atlantic Region rankings, released by the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Committee.
The Rock has outshot opponents 311-148 this season and outscored the opposition 33-15.
Ashley Paganie leads the team in scoring with six goals and five assists for 17 points.
Shelby Ward ranks second in points and leads the team with eight goals.
Danielle Turner, who scored both goals for The Rock in the quarterfinals, ranks third in scoring with four goals and five assists.
Kara Mullins has five goals and two assists and
Alison Hindley has three goals and five assists to round out the double-digit scorers.
Dana O'Neill has appeared in 13 games with 12 starts in goal this season for SRU and has posted a 8-2-1 record with eight shutouts. She has allowed just seven goals for a goals against average of 0.56 and has made 36 saves for a save percentage of .837.
Alli Bird has made seven starts and owns a 4-1-2 record. She has allowed eight goals for a goals against average of 1.09 and has made 23 saves for a save percentage of .742.
Scouting West Chester: The Golden Rams are ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in the region on the strength of a 17-1 record.
West Chester is led by Regional Player of the Year candidate Sarah Oswald with 16 goals and eight assists for 40 points. Melissa McKeary ranks second in scoring with four goals and nine assists, followed by Jen Gangl with six goals and two assists. Jessica Bennett has five goals and three assists and Devon Swaim has three goals and six assists to cap the double-digit scorers.
WCU is outshooting opponents 284-116 and outscoring the opposition 45-7.
Lyndsie Bernardini has started 17 games in goal and has posted a 16-1 record with an unprecedented 14 shutouts. She has allowed seven goals for a goals against average of 0.41 and has made 42 saves for a save percentage of .857. Leeny Tarnowski started one goal and earned a shutout, making one save.
Last Meeting: West Chester earned a 3-0 win over SRU Sept. 11 at home. The Golden Rams scored two goals in the first half and added a final goal in the second half.
The Golden Rams finished the game with advantages of 12-9 in total shots, 10-5 in shots on goal and 7-3 in corner kicks.
Oswald scored one goal, a penalty kick, and added one assist. Gangl scored the second and third goals of the game for WCU.
Bernardini earned the shutout with five saves. O'Neill made seven saves in the loss.
Playoff History: This will be the first meeting between these two teams in the conference playoffs since the championship game in 2007. In that match, West Chester claimed the title with a 2-0 win.
West Chester is tied for the most league championships with three, while Slippery Rock ranks second with two titles. Bloomsburg and Lock Haven also have three titles each.
