SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will take to No. 5 Gannon University for a prime-time test against a nationally ranked opponent for the fourth time this year 6 p.m. Wednesday in Erie, Pennsylvania.
 
The Rock, who can clinch a spot in the PSAC Tournament with a win over the Golden Knights, bring a 6-4-4 overall record that contains a 6-2-3 showing within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. Gannon will look to stay undefeated on the year at 10-0-3 overall and 7-0-3 in the PSAC West.
 
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch Wednesday's game live for free via the links below provided by Gannon Media Relations.
 
GAME 15 of 17
Opponent: Gannon
Date: Wednesday – 6 p.m.
Location: Erie, Pennsylvania
Venue: McConnell Family Stadium
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Gannon Media Relations
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 14-15-5
Current Streak: D1
Last Played: Oct. 2, 2024 at SRU (Tied, 1-1)
 
TOP ACTIVE SRU CAREER STATS vs. GANNON
Sydney Patrick – 7 points on 2 goals, 3 assists, 9 shots, 5 SOG (9 GP)
Maddie DeLucio – 3 points on 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots, 3 SOG (7 GP)
Skylar Munnikhuysen – 2 points on 1 goal, 8 shots, 2 SOG (6 GP)
Libby Zacharyasz – 2 points on 1 goal, 6 shots, 2 SOG (6 GP)
Leah Allman – (0-2-2), 3.00 GAA, 17 saves on 76 SF (4 GP)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock and Gannon will be playing each other for the 35^th time, a series that the Golden Knights own a narrow 15-14-5 advantage in.
 
The two teams have played nine times since 2021, meeting in the PSAC Tournament twice in that span. SRU's last trip to Gannon was in the 2023 PSAC Tournament Quarterfinals, being defeated, 4-2.
 
Overall, The Rock are 5-10-2 when playing GU on the road. SRU's last away win against the Golden Knights came in 2019, a year that The Rock swept Gannon with a pair of shutout wins.
 
Slippery Rock held a fifth-ranked Gannon squad to a 1-1 draw earlier this year at James Egli Field. Sydney Patrick put The Rock on the board in the 53^rd minute with an assist by Olivia Yoder, but the Golden Knights found a late equalizer in the 81^st minute.
 

TEAM COMPARISON
The Rock	Stats	Gannon
6-4-4	Overall Record	10-0-3
6-2-3	Conference Record	7-0-3
1.7	Goals per Game	2.4
0.9	Opp. Goals per Game	0.4
+11	Season Goal Differential	+26
17.0	Shots per Game	23.6
10.1	Opp. Shots per Game	3.7
8.5	SOG per Game	10.9
4.6	Opp. SOG per Game	2.3
1.6	Assists per Game	1.8
7.1	Corners per Game	7.2
6.9	Fouls per Game	8.6
3.7	Saves per Game	1.9

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 6-4-4
PSAC West Record: 6-2-3
Home Record: 2-2-3
Away Record: 4-2-1
Streak: W1
Last Five: 2-2-1
PSAC West Rank: 3^rd of 8
Head Coach: Jessica Giegucz | 10^th season at SRU (101-46-24, .661)
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock earned a second straight shutout on the year by rolling past Clarion in a 2-0 Senior Day win Oct. 26. The Rock benefitted from two unassisted goals by Patrick (19', 30'), while the team outshot Clarion, 26-4.
 
SRU also outshot Clarion 10-0 through the opening half, taking 10 of the first half's 11 corner kicks. The Rock wound up taking 17 of the match's 18 corner kicks, claiming a 14-3 edge in shots on goal.
 
Leah Allman made a trio of saves in net for SRU, while Sophia Palermo led The Rock with seven shots and four shots on goal.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
Patrick has recorded a team-leading 16 points on four goals and eight assists. Bailey McGee's 12 points from four goals and four assists stack up second on the roster in front of 10 points from Morgan Sarver, Slippery Rock's leading goalscorer with five.
 
Palermo and Maddie DeLucio have both tallied six points on two goals and two assists, while Yoder has carved five points into SRU's statistics on one goal and two assists. Libby Zacharyasz's two goals have earned her four points with Skylar Munnikhuysen's one goal and one assist lending her three points on the year.
 
Ava Balazentis and Faith Diffenbacher both own two points, with Diffenbacher scoring at Edinboro and Balazentis assisting twice. Kierstyn Maxey and Sydney Smith round out the team's 71 total points with one assist each.
 
Zacharyasz is Slippery Rock's new leader in shots with 33, 11 of which have been placed on target. Sarver joins her with more than 30 shots having taken 31 on the year. Palermo continues to showcase her shooting accuracy, leading The Rock with 20 shots on goal out of her 28 total attempts (71.4 percent).
 
WHERE THEY STAND
While there are many scenarios about how Slippery Rock can better its chances at a higher seed in this year's PSAC Tournament, the fact that remains above all else is that The Rock will need a win at Gannon to lock themselves into the conference postseason Wednesday. If that does not happen, SRU will still be in a fairly comfortable position moving forward.
 
The Rock can get to the PSAC Tournament for a 14^th consecutive season if they reach 23 points on the year. With three games left, SRU has tallied 21 points, putting themselves in a tie for second in the PSAC West with Indiana University (Pa.). IUP has, however, racked up its 21 points in one fewer game than Slippery Rock.
 
In addition to SRU's night game at Gannon, IUP will host California (Pa.) at 3 p.m. Wednesday. While the top four seeds in the PSAC West will qualify for the PSAC Tournament, the top two teams will host quarterfinal matchups.
 
WINNING LOTS OF CORNERS
Slippery Rock took 17 corner kicks against Clarion, tied for second all-time in SRU's recorded single-game history. SRU took 18 corner kicks against Pitt-Johnstown two years ago.
 
Most SRU corner kicks in a single game:
1. 18 vs. Pitt-Johnstown (2022)
T2. 17 vs. Clarion (2024)
T2. 17 vs. IUP (2021)
4. 16 vs. Edinboro (2019)
5. 15 vs. Edinboro (2022)
 
Now with a 100-44 difference in corner kicks on the year, The Rock rank 10^th nationwide in Division II and second in the PSAC with 7.2 corner kicks per game.
 
SYD WINS ANOTHER WEEKLY AWARD
Patrick was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week for the second time in her career, the conference office announced Oct. 28. The senior from Greensburg, Pennsylvania tallied both of SRU's goals in The Rock's 2-0 Senior Day win over Clarion. She also placed all three of her shots in the match on target.
 
Both of Patrick's goals came within 11:07 of one another. Patrick first converted a direct free kick in the 19^th minute to put The Rock on the board with a 1-0 edge.
 
Patrick's second goal came in remarkable fashion, scoring a so-called "Olimpico" goal by curling a corner kick past both teams and the opposing goalkeeper to score straight off the set piece. Patrick netted another Olimpico goal – a rare feat even in the professional soccer realm – last year against IUP in a 3-2 win at James Egli Field.
 
Also being named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week Sept. 11, 2023, Patrick became the 11^th recorded player in SRU women's soccer history to pick up the weekly award at least twice in their career.
 
Patrick joins Allman, McGee and Zacharyasz this year in being the fourth different SRU student-athlete to earn an PSAC weekly award, extending Slippery Rock's streak of winning at least four PSAC weekly awards to a fifth straight season.
 
BACK-TO-BACK BLANK SLATES
Three saves against Clarion were enough to grant Allman her 12^th career shutout and second consecutive clean sheet for the third time in her career. The sophomore has now recorded six shutouts in each of her two seasons with The Rock, not missing a single minute in the process.
 
Allman heads into Wednesday's fixture with a GAA of 0.93 and a save percentage of .800 on the season.
 
NOTHING GETTING PAST
Slippery Rock's defensive third, which was comprised of Diffenbacher, King, Smith, Zacharyasz, Irene Doleno and Jordyn Constable against Clarion, held the opposition to five shots on goal or fewer for a fourth straight match. SRU has given up 15 shots on goal in the last four games while taking 44 itself.
 
Additionally, Slippery Rock's back line held Clarion to just four total shots, ranking second on the season for SRU behind a three-shot allowance versus Cal. The Rock also held the Golden Eagles to just one corner kick, marking the third time this year that SRU's opponent has taken less than two corners in the match.
 
WHERE THE OFFENSE STACKS UP
The Rock have averaged 19.3 shots per game in their last four outings, outshooting teams 77-27 in that span. SRU ranks highly conference-wide in several offensive statistics, both as a team as well as individually:
 
• 1.6 assists per game (4^th in the PSAC)
 
• 7.2 corner kicks per game (2^nd in the PSAC)
 
• 5.1 points per game (5^th in the PSAC)
 
• 17.0 shots per game (3^rd in the PSAC)
 
• 8.5 shots on goal per game (3^rd in the PSAC)
 
• Patrick ranks second in the PSAC with 0.6 assists per game and seventh in the conference with 1.2 points per game.
 
• Palermo ranks sixth in the PSAC with 1.5 shots on goal per game and second in the conference with a .714 shot accuracy. That clip is also good enough for fourth nationwide in Division II. 
 
UNDER THE LIGHTS
Slippery Rock has gone 6-3-1 in its last 10 games that have had a kickoff time of 6 p.m. or later, outscoring teams 23-11 in that frame.
 
The Rock are 1-1 this year in night games, defeating Edinboro 6-0 on the road before falling to No. 4 Ashland University at home, 1-0.
 
THE ROCK vs. THE RANKED
SRU is 0-1-2 against nationally ranked opponents this year, coming away with draws against both No. 5 Gannon and No. 23 IUP.
 
Slippery Rock has lost just two of its last eight matchups against nationally ranked sides, most recently in a 1-0 defeat to No. 4 Ashland this year. The Rock's last ranked win came last season in a 2-1 home win over No. 18 Mercyhurst University.
 
Prior to this season, Gannon had not been ranked in a match against SRU since 2015 when the then-No. 4 Golden Knights defeated Slippery Rock, 2-1. Wednesday's matchup will mark the 11^th all-time meeting when either Slippery Rock or Gannon have been ranked. SRU's last win against Gannon in a nationally ranked contest came in 2008.
 
READY FOR THE ROAD
Slippery Rock will be playing its penultimate away game of the 2024 regular season, entering with a 4-2-1 record on the road. SRU is also looking to extend a three-game winning streak on the road despite playing just one other away match in the entirety of the last month.
 
The Rock have finished each season since 2015 with a winning record in away games. SRU went 5-5 in 2014, finishing above .500 on the road every year before that since 2008.
 
RECORD WATCH
Patrick and Sarver have both solidified themselves in the top 15 all-time in shots attempted. Sarver ranks ninth with 143 shots, while Patrick has remains 14^th with 120. Sarver is five shots behind a tie for eighth with Kayla Swope at 148 total shot attempts.
 
Netting four points against Clarion, Patrick climbed from 17^th all-time to 14^th in SRU history, now with 61 points. She is just three away from what would be a three-way tie for 10^th with Jen Canucci (1994-97) and Beth Kimball (1995-98).
 
Allman stacks up eighth with 18 all-time wins, second with seven career ties and sixth with 12 total shutouts. Now with 33 career starts, the Olmsted Township, Ohio goalkeeper ranks seventh in school history, two behind Lauren McManus (2006-09).
 
THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 10-0-3
PSAC West Record: 7-0-3
Home Record: 4-0-1
Away Record: 4-0-2
PSAC West Rank: 1^st of 8
Streak: W4
Last Five: 4-0-1
Head Coach: Colin Petersen | 23^rd season at Gannon (215-162-43, .563)
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
 
GANNON SCOUTING REPORT
The Golden Knights are looking for a win or tie for the 23^rd time in their last 25 total matches. Their only losses in that span have been last season's 2-1 loss to West Chester University in the PSAC Championship and a 1-0 loss to Adelphi University in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals.
 
With a 7-0-3 record in the PSAC West, Gannon's only three draws have come from back-to-back ties against Cal and SRU as well as a 0-0 stalemate versus IUP Oct. 9. Since then, GU has won straight four games, three of which were in shutout fashion.
 
Gannon leads the PSAC in scoring offense with 2.4 goals per game while ranking second in Division II with both 23.6 shots per game and 10.9 shots on goal per game. The Golden Knights get it done on defense too, stacking up 10^th in the country with a 0.39 GAA.
 
Brooklyn Respecki's 1.7 and Grace Emanuel's 1.5 points per game rank third and fifth in the conference respectively. The duo has combined for 42 points on the season on 18 goals and six assists. Morgan Sinan has been solid in net with a 0.40 GAA and an .828 save percentage, ranking 12^th in Division II in GAA.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will remain on the road to play Cal 1 p.m. Saturday. The Rock defeated the Vulcans earlier this season at James Egli Field, 1-0.





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