SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will look to get back into the win column 1 p.m. Saturday at California (Pa.). The match will be played at the Phillipsburg Soccer Facility.
The Rock enter with a 5-3-1 overall record, 4-2-1 when playing in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Vulcans will look to improve upon their 2-5-1 record, 1-4-1 in the conference.
WATCH LIVE
• Fans can follow live stats for Saturday's game via the links below provided by California (Pa.) Sports Information.
GAME 10 of 18
Opponent: California (Pa.)
Date: Saturday — 1 p.m.
Venue: Phillipsburg Soccer Facility
Location: California, Pennsylvania
Live Stats: California (Pa.) Sports Information
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
SERIES HISTORY vs. CALIFORNIA (Pa.)
Saturday will be the 44
th all-time meeting between The Rock and the Vulcans, a series that Slippery Rock leads 29-11-3. SRU has won seven of its last nine matches against Cal, going 0-1-1 in the last two. While on the road, The Rock are 15-4-3 against the Vulcans, not having lost since 2014 in the PSAC Tournament. Of the last seven meetings, Slippery Rock has shutout California five times.
LAST MEETING
Slippery Rock hosted California Oct. 19, 2022, falling 3-1. Cal was outshot in the first half, 7-3, but went into intermission with a 2-1 lead, scoring in the 7
th and 31
st minutes.
Morgan Sarver did momentarily equalize in the 12
th minute with assists coming from
Faith Diffenbacher and
Julia Mascaro. The Vulcans kicked off the second half with a goal 2:37 into the period, keeping The Rock out of the net despite allowing 16 second half shots.
SRU's frustrating day came to an end while holding strongholds in total shots (23-8), shots on goal (8-6) and corner kicks (6-2).
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 5-3-1 (.611)
PSAC West Record: 4-2-1
PSAC West Standings: 3
rd
Home Record: 4-0-1
Away Record: 1-3-0
Last Five Games: 2-2-1
Streak: L1
Head Coach: Jessica Giegucz | Ninth season at SRU (88-41-18, .660)
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock suffered a 4-2 road loss Wednesday at Gannon University. After allowing a hat trick from Gannon's Grace Emanuel in the first 73 minutes, Slippery Rock fought back with a 76
th minute goal from
Brooke Riefenstahl and an 81
st minute goal from Sarver.
Despite cutting the lead to 3-2, Gannon was able to leave all comeback hopes out to dry with a fourth goal just two minutes later. With its late rally shuddered, Slippery Rock ended the game having been outshot, 30-7.
ON THE ATTACK
Following Slippery Rock's 4-2 loss to Gannon, 13 different players have now registered points for The Rock this season, with a 12 unique goalscorers. Sarver's 14 points on four goals and six assists top the board, followed by
Sydney Patrick's 12 points on four goals and four assists.
Ashley Rea has seven points on a pair of goals and three assists, while
Skylar Munnikhuysen's three goals lend her six points on the year.
Olivia Yoder has four points coming on one goal and two assists. Riefenstahl and
Maddie DeLucio both have three points from one goal and one assist.
Five members of The Rock have two points from one goal this season: Diffenbacher,
Sophia Palermo,
Lindsey Price,
Briona Rice and
Libby Zacharyasz. Additionally,
Nina King's one assist on the year, which came against Pitt-Johnstown, gives her one point.
A DOZEN GOALSCORERS
Riefenstahl's goal against Gannon made her the 12
th different goalscorer for Slippery Rock this season. The goal was Riefenstahl's fourth career goal, now giving her 12 points on four goals and four assists throughout her span at Slippery Rock as a defender. The goal joins Diffenbacher's goal against UPJ and Zacharyasz's goal against Edinboro as the third goal of the year scored by a defender.
A year ago, Slippery Rock finished the year with 11 different goalscorers. The 2021 season featured 12 players with goals.
PRESSING ONWARD
Despite being held to a season-low seven shots against Gannon, Slippery Rock has still managed to average 20.3 shots per game. The Rock are just one of nine teams in Division II to maintain over 20 shots per game, currently ranked sixth in the nation and second in the PSAC.
Individually, Sarver's 47 total shots rank her third in Division II, with her 5.22 shots per game good enough for seventh in the nation.
FROM THE CORNER
Slippery Rock's 66 corner kicks this season rank third in Division II, with its 7.33 corner kicks per game second in the PSAC (Bloomsburg University, 7.38). Prior to SRU being held to a season-low one corner kick at Gannon, The Rock had amassed a cumulative advantage over their prior three games in corner kicks, 22-3.
CURBING THE ROAD RECORD
While Slippery Rock stands at an undefeated 4-0-1 at home, The Rock will be looking to get back on track in road games, entering Saturday 1-3 when visiting. SRU's lone road win this season came in a 2-0 victory Sept. 9 at Seton Hill University. In their last two away games, The Rock have been outscored 9-2.
Similarly, Slippery Rock started 2022 by going 1-1-2 on the road, eventually improving that to 5-2-3 by the end of the season.
SRU is looking to avoid a second straight loss overall, which The Rock has not allowed since 2018.
DEFENSIVE SUPPRESSION
Diffenbacher, King, Riefenstahl and Zacharyasz have continued to play phenomenal defense for Slippery Rock, allowing just 8.3 shots per game from the opposition. On top of that, Slippery Rock's defense has steadily been limiting the opponents to 1.56 corner kicks per game.
The core four on defense for SRU have the ability to create opportunities at both ends of the pitch, with all four having tallied at least one point on the season.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Leah Allman has started all nine games for Slippery Rock in net, most recently having been barraged by a career-high 28 shots faced against Gannon. In that game, Allman tallied a career-high seven saves. The true freshman enters Saturday's road test at Cal with 21 saves, a .583 save percentage and a GAA of 1.75.
WHERE THEY STAND
SRU's loss at Gannon bumped The Rock down to third in the PSAC West standings, maintaining 13 points. The Rock are still a comfortable four points ahead of fourth-place Indiana University (Pa.), who temporarily hold the final playoff spot.
In last week's United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region poll, SRU moved up from ninth to eighth, as PSAC members hold six of the top eight spots.
NEARING 100 WINS
Head coach
Jessica Giegucz enters Saturday's battle one win shy of 100 career victories. After beginning her head coaching career with 11 wins in 2014 at Division III Northland College, Giegucz took over the Slippery Rock program in 2015 and has gone on to post an 88-41-18 record during her tenure.
ACTIVE SRU ROSTER vs. CALIFORNIA (Pa.)
Sydney Patrick — 2 points (1 goal, 0 assists)
Ashley Rea — 2 points (1 goal, 0 assists)
Morgan Sarver — 2 points (1 goal, 0 assists)
Maddie DeLucio — 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist)
Faith Diffenbacher — 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist)
Brooke Riefenstahl — 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist)
THE VULCANS BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 2-5-1 (.312)
PSAC West Record: 1-4-1
PSAC West Standings: T-7
th
Home Record: 1-2-1
Away Record: 1-3-0
Last Five Games: 1-3-1
Streak: L3
Head Coach: Pete Curtis | Fifth season at California (Pa.) (16-52-8, .263)
CALIFORNIA (Pa.) SCOUTING REPORT
The Vulcans enter Saturday's matchup on a three-game losing streak, falling 2-1 in each of the three defeats. The victors in those matches were Pitt-Johnstown, Gannon and IUP. Cal did not hold the lead at any time in any of those matches.
Cal's last win came Sept. 16 at Clarion in a 1-0 decision. The Vulcans' lone home win was their Aug. 31 season opener against Lock Haven University, claiming a 2-1 win.
The Vulcans have just two players with more than one goal. Sophomore Reagan Bromiley and German junior Lorina Romeis each have five points on two goals and one assist.
Christyana Sims has given the Vulcans solid support with four points on one goal and a team-high two assists, while Ashley Venezia has tacked on three points on a goal and an assist, too.
Junior Emily Ouimet has played all 720 minutes in net for California, her third year in the starting goalkeeper role for the Vulcans. Ouimet has totaled 40 saves on the year and enters the battle with Slippery Rock's high-powered offense with a .784 save percentage and a GAA of 1.38.
In his sixth year at Cal, the Vulcans are led by veteran head coach Pete Curtis. He has seen great success in his over 30 years of coaching at all levels, from Division III Washington & Jefferson College to Division I Cleveland State University, where he was the 2002 Horizon League Coach of the Year.
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will enjoy a full week of rest, resuming play 1 p.m. Oct. 7 at James Egli Field against Seton Hill. The Rock went 1-0-1 against the Griffins a year ago. Saturday will also be Slippery Rock's annual Mental Health Awareness Game.
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).
