SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team picked up its first home win of the season with a 1-0 victory over California (Pa.) Saturday at James Egli Field.
 
The Rock improve to 4-2-3 on the year and 4-1-2 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play, extending their undefeated streak at Egli Field to 15 straight games. The Vulcans fell to 3-5-2 overall and 2-4-1 within the PSAC West.
 
A 19^th-minute own goal proved to be the difference in SRU's one-goal win, despite The Rock putting up hefty numbers in the box score. Slippery Rock outshot the Vulcans 17-3 on the day, also earning leads in shots on goal (5-1) and corner kicks (8-2).
 
Maddie DeLucio led the offense by landing two of her game-high five shots on net. Olivia Yoder contributed three shots off the bench, while Bailey McGee, Skylar Munnikhuysen and Morgan Sarver each tallied two shots.
 
Jaime Dermotta, Sophia Palermo and Libby Zacharyasz all added one shot in SRU's effort for eight unique shot-takers in total.
 
Leah Allman made just one save in what became her 10^th career shutout, but it was also one of the most impressive stops of her time at Slippery Rock, keeping the Vulcans off the board late in the 1-0 match.
 
SRU's offense pressured heavily early on, taking the game's first three shots and three corners. An 18^th-minute corner kick from SRU got headed down by a Cal player to the far post, where another Cal defender cleared it directly up and into their own goal to give The Rock a 1-0 advantage.
 
California goalkeeper Emily Ouimet was peppered throughout the remainder of the contest, needing to make saves on DeLucio and Sarver in the 27^th and 30^th minutes respectively, as SRU took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
 
The Rock did not let its 1-0 edge stand in their way of continuing to attack the Vulcans, outshooting Cal 12-1 in the second half. Despite that advantage, which included five corner kicks to California's two, the Vulcans looked to have an equalizer on a 72^nd-minute breakaway.
 
Cal's Katey Bern picked up a mistouched ball with room to run ahead of her, firing a shot to Allman's right that she stopped with a diving save. That was Cal's lone second-half scoring opportunity, as The Rock defended an 87^th-minute corner kick to ensure the 1-0 victory.
 
Bern was the lone Cal player with more than one shot on the day, taking two of the team's three attempts. Ouimet made four saves in net for the Vulcans, stopping all shots fired by Slippery Rock players.
 
Slippery Rock will conclude a three-game homestand under the lights of Mihalik-Thompson Stadium 7 p.m. October 9 by hosting non-conference Ashland University. The Eagles were ranked eighth nationally in Division II in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll.





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