SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will look to extend its unbeaten streak to four matches with a win 7 p.m. Saturday at Clarion. The game will take place at Clarion's Memorial Stadium.
Hot off wins against Seton Hill University and Pitt-Johnstown, The Rock enter with an overall record of 7-3-2 that includes a 6-2-2 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Golden Eagles have gone unbeaten in four of their last five, now 2-6-4 overall and 2-5-3 in PSAC West competition.
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch Saturday's game live and on-demand for free via the links below provided by Clarion Sports Information.
GAME 13 of 18
Opponent: Clarion
Date: Saturday — 7 p.m.
Venue: Memorial Stadium
Location: Clarion, Pennsylvania
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Clarion Sports Information
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
SERIES HISTORY vs. CLARION
Saturday will mark the 32
nd all-time meeting between The Rock and the Golden Eagles, a series that Slippery Rock leads 27-1-3. Despite SRU's dominant record, The Rock have only won two of their last four contests against Clarion. When playing at Clarion, Slippery Rock is 13-1-2. The Rock, then ranked No. 23, were upset at Clarion in 2021, losing 2-1.
In the last seven matches against Clarion, Slippery Rock has outscored the Golden Eagles, 27-4.
LAST MEETING
Slippery Rock and Clarion played to a 2-2 draw earlier in the season at James Egli Field. After a scoreless first half,
Skylar Munnikhuysen got The Rock on the board in the 51
st minute, but Clarion answered with two goals, both scored by Ciara DiMauro, in the 53
rd and 56
th minutes.
The scoring frenzy continued in the 57
th minute when Munnikhuysen leveled the score to 2-2, but that would end up being the final goal scored. Slippery Rock outshot Clarion, 22-6 in the game.
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 7-3-2 (.667)
PSAC West Record: 6-2-2
PSAC West Standings: 3
rd
Home Record: 5-0-1
Away Record: 2-3-1
Last Five Games: 2-1-2
Streak: W2
Head Coach: Jessica Giegucz | Ninth season at SRU (90-41-19, .663)
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock completed the season sweep over Pitt-Johnstown on the road Oct. 11 with a 4-1 win over the Mountain Cats. The Rock accrued four goals from
Sydney Patrick,
Maddie DeLucio,
Morgan Sarver and
Jaime Dermotta throughout the opening 79 minutes of the match.
UPJ tacked on a goal in the 82
nd minute, but could not find any answers against a Slippery Rock offense that led in shots, 22-12.
ACCUMULATING POINTS
SRU has now totaled 73 points on the year, led by Sarver's 18 points on five goals and eight assists.
Also with five goals is Patrick, who has 15 points from an additional five assists. Third on the team is
Ashley Rea with nine points on three goals and three assists, while DeLucio and Munnikhuysen both have seven points, each with three goals and one assist.
Olivia Yoder enters Saturday's contest with four points on one goal and two assists while
Brooke Riefenstahl has accrued three points on one goal and one assist.
Six players have two points from one goal in Dermotta,
Faith Diffenbacher,
Sophia Palermo,
Lindsey Price,
Briona Rice and
Libby Zacharyasz.
Nina King and
Bailey McGee each have one point from one assist.
Following the 4-1 win over UPJ, 15 of 27 players on the roster now have points to their name (56 percent).
ON THE ATTACK
Sarver leads the team in both shots and shots on goal, placing 27 of her 58 attempts on net. She is second in the PSAC in both categories, as well as second in assists and third in points. Her 4.83 shots per game ranks fifth in Division II, while her 2.25 shots on goal per game put her 16
th nationally.
DeLucio and Patrick have combined for 50 of the team's 235 shots (21.3 percent). Rea leads the team in shot accuracy, landing 15 of her 23 total shots on target. As a team, Slippery Rock has fired 120 of its 235 shots (51.1 percent) on net.
A COUPLE OF FIRSTS
Against Pitt-Johnstown, Dermotta registered her first goal of the season, the third of her career. On the season, Dermotta has placed eight of her 13 shots on net and has started eight matches.
Additionally, McGee, a true freshman from Aurora, Ohio, checked in with her first career point by assisting Sarver's goal in the 57
th minute.
CORNER KICKS
For the third straight game, Slippery Rock took more corners than its opponent against UPJ, racking up 11 in total. Over the past three matches, SRU has averaged 10 corner kicks a game.
On the season, The Rock have taken eight corners per game, fifth in Division II. Slippery Rock's 96 total corners leads the PSAC and ranks fourth in Division II.
IN SEARCH OF A THIRD
Slippery Rock has won back-to-back games three separate times this year, but has not yet won three in a row. Slippery Rock defeated Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill before losing to Mercyhurst, and then picked up wins against Indiana University (Pa.) and Edinboro before tying Clarion.
The last time Slippery Rock won three games in a row was Oct. 1, 2022 when it secured wins over Edinboro, Clarion and Seton Hill. The Rock would go on to play both Gannon University and Mercyhurst to scoreless draws, granting Slippery Rock five consecutive shutouts.
ROCK SOLID DEFENSE
SRU's defense has continued to be led by Diffenbacher, King, Riefenstahl and Zacharyasz, who have yet to miss a minute of play. Over the last three games, Slippery Rock has allowed just four shots on goal per game.
The Slippery Rock defense has proven to be able to play both sides of the field, as well, cumulatively rounding up eight points on three goals and two assists.
UNDER THE CROSSBAR
Leah Allman picked up her seventh career win at UPJ after making four saves on a dozen shots. Allman comes into Saturday's contest now having made 32 saves on the season. She has a 1.38 GAA and a .667 save percentage.
WHERE THEY STAND
Slippery Rock is comfortably in third place in the PSAC West, now with 20 points on six wins and two draws. The Rock find themselves seven points away from Gannon in second and nine points ahead of IUP and Edinboro, who are in a tie for fourth.
In this week's United Soccer Coaches' poll, Slippery Rock remained at No. 9 in the Atlantic Region, while PSAC West foes Mercyhurst and Gannon ranked No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
Clarion finds itself with a big opportunity, just two points behind the last playoff spot. The Golden Eagles are currently sixth in the PSAC West with nine points on two wins and three draws.
The top four teams in the PSAC West standings at the end of the regular season qualify for the conference tournament.
ACTIVE SRU ROSTER vs. CLARION
Sydney Patrick — 7 points (2 goals, 3 assists)
Skylar Munnikhuysen —6 points (3 goals, 0 assists)
Ashley Rea — 5 points (2 goals, 1 assist)
Morgan Sarver — 4 points (1 goal, 2 assists)
Maddie DeLucio — 3 points (1 goal, 1 assist)
Olivia Yoder — 3 points (1 goal, 1 assist)
Brooke Riefenstahl — 2 points (1 goal, 0 assists)
Leah Allman — 1 save (1 game played)
THE GOLDEN EAGLES BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 2-6-4 (.333)
PSAC West Record: 2-5-3
PSAC West Standings: 6
th
Home Record: 2-4-0
Away Record: 0-2-4
Last Five Games: 1-1-3
Streak: T1
Head Coach: Jason Edwards | First season at Clarion (2-6-4, .333)
CLARION SCOUTING REPORT
The Golden Eagles enter Saturday's matchup having gone 0-1-2 in their last three matches, picking up key ties against UPJ and IUP. Clarion's lone wins came in a 3-2 fashion over IUP and in a 2-1 decision over Seton Hill.
DiMauro, who scored a brace against Slippery Rock, leads the team with six points on three goals. Senior Kylee Cross has five points on one goal and a team-high three assists, while true freshman Emily Mannion has also put up five points, coming from two goals and one assist.
Freshman Evelyn Cook is the only other player with more than one goal, finding the back of the net twice, both in Clarion's 3-2 win over IUP.
Clarion's goalkeeping has seen Alex Velez of Erie, Pennsylvania taking the brunt of the action, playing seven of the team's 12 games. Velez, who recorded the draw against SRU, has made 32 saves on 100 shots faced and enters Saturday night with a .681 save percentage and a GAA of 2.14.
As a team, Clarion has been outscored 30-12 on the year and are getting outshot per game 15.1-9.4. The Golden Eagles average 3.17 corner kicks per game, sixth in the PSAC West.
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will resume play 4 p.m. Oct. 18 at James Egli Field when it welcomes in No. 20 Mercyhurst University. The Rock fell to the Lakers earlier this season on the road in a 5-0 loss.
To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).
