SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will travel to Seton Hill University for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday. The match will mark SRU's first road test in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play of 2023.
Slippery Rock enters with a 2-1 record after a massive five-goal victory over Pitt-Johnstown Wednesday at home.
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch Saturday's game live and on-demand for free via the links below provided by Seton Hill Athletic Communication.
GAME 4 of 18
Opponent: Seton Hill
Date: Saturday — 1 p.m.
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Field
Location: Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Seton Hill Athletic Communication
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
SERIES HISTORY VS. SETON HILL
Slippery Rock leads the all-time series between the two programs 13-3-1 in a history that dates back to 1994. After a pair of losses in 1994 and 1995, The Rock's third and most recent loss to the Griffins came in 2018. Since that match, Slippery Rock has not lost or tied on the road when playing Seton Hill, winning the last three. SRU is 6-3 overall when playing at SHU.
Jaime Dermotta is the only active player for SRU who has scored against Seton Hill before.
Sydney Patrick,
Nina King and
Morgan Sarver each have one career assist against the Griffins.
LAST MEETING
Slippery Rock defeated Seton Hill on the road Oct. 1, 2022, 1-0. Dermotta scored one of her two goals of the season in the 16
th minute, which would end up being the game-winner. Dermotta scored after a Sarver shot deflected directly toward her allowing for the rebound goal, crediting Sarver with the assist.
Sarver led the game in shots with four, followed by
Ashley Rea with three. SRU held the edge in shots, 12-8, as well as in corners, 6-4.
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 2-1-0 (.667)
PSAC West Record: 1-0-0
Home Record: 2-0-0
Away Record: 0-1-0
Last Five Games: 3-2-0
Streak: W1
Head Coach: Jessica Giegucz | Ninth season at SRU (85-39-17, .663)
LAST TIME OUT
The Rock rolled to a dominant 5-0 victory over Pitt-Johnstown in their PSAC West opener Wednesday. The scoring began just 90 seconds in with Sarver's second goal on the year. Freshman
Sophia Palermo doubled the lead in the 34
th minute after being subbed in. The Rock held a 21-2 advantage in shots at halftime.
Patrick scored an incredible goal from just inside the corner flag that tucked in past the far post in the 61
st minute. Two minutes later, the lead would go to four with a short cross from Patrick to
Briona Rice finding its way in as well.
Faith Diffenbacher became the fifth goalscorer of the game in the 73
rd minute heading down a corner kick.
The Rock wound up outshooting the Mountain Cats by a margin of 43-4 and held a 12-2 edge in corners.
FIRST TIME SCORERS
Accompanying
Lindsey Price, who scored her first career goal in the season-opening win over Davis & Elkins, are two more first-time scorers in Palermo and Rice. With their contributions, three of the eight different Slippery Rock scorers on the season have all netted their career firsts.
PUTTING THE ROCK ON THE MAP
After two of their first three games of the season resulting in 6-1 and 5-0 victories, The Rock find themselves near the top of the national leaderboard in several categories.
With 11 goals, Slippery Rock ranks third in the nation behind Belmont Abbey College (18) and Catawba College (17). Over three games, The Rock's 3.67 goals per game ranks 11
th nationally and second in the PSAC behind Shepherd University (4.5).
Slippery Rock finds itself 12
th nationally in points per game with 10.67, averaging 3.67 goals and 3.33 assists.
OFFENSIVE OPPORTUNITIES
No team in Division II has taken more shots in the 2023 season than Slippery Rock with 88. The Rock ranks third in shots per game with 29.33 behind Barry University (38.0) and Belmont Abbey (37.0).
Similarly, The Rock leads the country in corner kicks with 32 on the year. Up until its most recent game against UPJ, Slippery Rock had not allowed a single corner from an opponent thus far.
Sarver individually has taken 9.33 shots per game, which ranks her second in the nation behind USC Beaufort's Eva Kristjansdottir with 12.
A WIDE MARGIN
The Rock outscored their opponents 11-2 through the first three games of the season. The three-goal average win is the highest scoring margin in the PSAC West.
It's the best opening trio of games in just two years, which also saw an 11-2 scoring margin. The opening games of 2021 were comprised of a 2-2 draw with West Virginia Wesleyan College, a 2-0 win over Fairmont State University and a 7-0 onslaught against Clarion.
PUTTING UP THE POINTS
A season ago, Slippery Rock finished the year with 13 different players with points to their name. Through just the first three games of 2023, 11 different players have tallied points on a cumulative 11 goals and 10 assists.
Patrick leads the way with nine, already three more than her total from last year. She leads the team in goals with three and has added three assists.
Sarver's two goals and four assists put her second on the team with eight points.
Diffenbacher, Palermo, Price, Rice,
Maddie DeLucio and
Skylar Munnikhuysen all have two points each with one goal apiece.
King, Rea and
Olivia Yoder are all at one point from one assist.
A BLANK SHEET
Leah Allman earned her first career shutout Wednesday in SRU's 5-0 win over Pitt-Johnstown. Allman's GAA through three games stands at 0.67. She has six saves on 13 shots faced for a .750 save percentage.
OPENING SUCCESS
With its 5-0 defeat over UPJ, Slippery Rock has begun PSAC West play undefeated for the sixth time in seven years.
THE GRIFFINS BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 1-1-0 (.500)
PSAC West Record: 0-1-0 (.000)
Home Record: 1-0-0
Away Record: 0-1-0
Last Five Games: 1-3-1
Streak: L1
Head Coach: Riley Butler | First season at Seton Hill (1-1-0, .500)
SETON HILL SCOUTING REPORT
The Griffins enter the game 1-1-0 after a 1-0 victory over Fairmont State and a 2-0 loss to Mercyhurst University.
Seton Hill's home opener against Fairmont State only took one goal scored by Jessica Molitoris in the 68
th minute for the Griffins to secure a 1-0 edge. Molitoris, a sophomore from Pittsburgh, is the team's lone goalscorer on the season.
SHU did not have many opportunities against Mercyhurst, the Griffins' only road test so far. They were outshot by the Lakers 14-3, not having a look at goal until the 51
st minute.
Junior defender Mikayla Moyer is a force to be reckoned with, standing strong against a counterattack while at the same time leading the team in shots with four.
The Griffins have already used two goaltenders this season. Towson University transfer Lindsey Pazdzlorko played against Fairmont State for the win but was relieved by Sydney Caldwell 17 minutes into the battle with Mercyhurst. Caldwell earned two saves in her 73 minutes played, credited with a GAA of 1.22.
Seton Hill welcomes a first-year head coach in Riley Butler, who brings an impressive resume with him to Greensburg. A 2009 graduate of Jacksonville University, Butler has served in assistant coaching roles with Division I schools Radford University, Saint Francis University, the University of Pittsburgh, and most recently, Illinois State University.
The Griffins played to a 6-3-7 record a year ago, the same as Slippery Rock. Seton Hill was the No. 4 seed in the PSAC West, falling to Gannon in the first round of the PSAC Tournament.
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will play back-to-back away games for the first time this season when it travels to Mercyhurst 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. A year ago, SRU tied both regular season games with the Lakers, 1-1 and 0-0, before falling to them 1-0 in the first round of the PSAC Tournament.
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).
