GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs for all sports in 2024-25. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's game. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
 

Slippery Rock vs. No. 4 Ashland
The Rock (4-2-3, 4-1-2 PSAC West)	Eagles (7-1-1, 5-0-1 G-MAC)
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach Jessica Giegucz	Coach Cayleb Paulino
Program Records	Program Records
James Egli Field
PSAC Standings
PSAC Leaders
PSAC Schedule

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will face a nationally ranked squad for the second time in three games when it welcomes No. 4 Ashland University for a 7 p.m. kickoff under the lights of Mihalik-Thompson Stadium Wednesday.
 
The Rock bring in a 4-2-3 overall record that includes a 4-1-2 showing with in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Eagles are 7-1-1 on the season and 5-0-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
NO PETS AT MIHALIK-THOMPSON STADIUM
Fans are reminded that there are NO PETS allowed at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium or in any SRU Athletics facilities. Please do not bring dogs or any other pets to the game. Unless they are a registered service animal, you will be asked to remove your pet from the facility.
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch Wednesday's game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU athletic communication office.
 
• Search for Rock Athletics Digital Network in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices. The streaming web player linked above will also integrate with Chrome Cast devices to allow viewers to cast the game to those devices.
 
GAME 10 of 17
Opponent: #4 Ashland
Date: Wednesday – 7 p.m.
Location: Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Venue: Mihalik-Thompson Stadium
Live Video: Rock Athletics Digital Network
Live Stats: Slippery Rock Athletic Communication
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 2-2
Current Streak: L2
Last Played: Sept. 4, 1999 (L, 1-0)
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Rock and the Eagles will be meeting for the fifth time, renewing a four-game series that spanned from 1996-99. SRU defeated Ashland 4-0 in 1996 and 2-0 in 1997 before falling to the Eagles, 3-0 and 1-0, in 1998 and 1999 respectively.
 
Ashland was ranked in three of those contests. The Rock defeated a No. 23 Eagles squad in 1997 before falling to Ashland groups that were ranked 17^th and fourth in 1998 and 1999.
 
Both teams went 1-1 both at home and on the road, setting up something of a rubber match between the two teams Wednesday.
 

TEAM COMPARISON
The Rock	Stats	#4 Ashland
4-2-3	Overall Record	7-1-1
4-1-2	Conference Record	5-0-1
2.1	Goals per Game	2.1
0.9	Opp. Goals per Game	0.2
+11	Season Goal Differential	+17
17.4	Shots per Game	15.1
10.3	Opp. Shots per Game	6.6
8.2	SOG per Game	7.4
4.7	Opp. SOG per Game	2.8
2.2	Assists per Game	1.4
6.2	Corners per Game	9.4
6.9	Fouls per Game	6.1
3.8	Saves per Game	2.6

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 4-2-3
PSAC West Record: 4-1-2
Home Record: 1-0-2
Away Record: 3-2-1
Streak: W1
Last Five: 3-1-1
PSAC West Rank: T-1^st of 8
Head Coach: Jessica Giegucz | 10^th season at SRU (99-44-23, .666)
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock grabbed its first home win of 2024 by defeating California (Pa.) 1-0 Oct. 5 at James Egli Field. While The Rock outshot the Vulcans 17-3, Slippery Rock's 19^th-minute game-winner came on an own goal when a Cal player tried clearing the ball over the net on a congested corner kick.
 
Maddie DeLucio led Slippery Rock with five shots, two of which were on target. Leah Allman only had to make one save in net to pick up her fourth shutout of the season.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
Sydney Patrick remains at the top of Slippery Rock's statistics with 11 points on two goals and seven assists. Just two points behind her is Bailey McGee with nine points on three goals and three assists. Morgan Sarver ranks third with eight points but is Slippery Rock's leading goalscorer with four.
 
DeLucio has tallied six points on two goals and two assists, while three players have four points: both Sophia Palermo and Olivia Yoder have scored once and assisted twice with Libby Zacharyasz's four points stemming from a pair of goals.
 
Ava Balazentis has earned two points from two assists, while Faith Diffenbacher and Skylar Munnikhuysen each have two points on the year from one goal. Kierstyn Maxey and Sydney Smith round out the dozen players with at least one point with one assist each.
 
On top of leading the team with four goals, Sarver has taken a team-high 26 shots and 11 shots on goal for The Rock. Patrick ranks second in shots on target with 10 despite only recording 13 total shot attempts, fifth on the team.
 
Zacharyasz has registered 24 shots on the year with DeLucio (17) and Yoder (15) filling out the rest of the top five in total shot attempts. Sarver and Zacharyasz have combined for 50 shots through nine games, accounting for 31.8 percent of SRU's offensive efforts (50-of-157 shots).
 
LEAH RECOGNIZED BY CONFERENCE
Allman was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career, the league office announced Oct. 7.
 
The goalkeeper from Olmsted Township, Ohio led The Rock to a 1-0-1 week that saw a 1-1 tie with No. 5 Gannon University as well as SRU's 1-0 win over Cal. Between the two games, Allman made six saves while facing 17 shots, picking up her 10^th career shutout against the Vulcans.
 
Allman made five saves against the nationally ranked Golden Knights, an offense that entered the game ranking sixth in Division II with 20.3 shots per game and leading the PSAC with 3.0 goals per game. Additionally, that performance kept Allman undefeated against nationally ranked opponents (1-0-1), a streak she'll look to keep alive versus Ashland.
 
While the box score will say Allman made just one save against California, the 72^nd-minute play was a diving stop to deny a Cal breakaway from tying up the game.
 
The sophomore keeper now ranks 32^nd in Division II and fourth in the PSAC with four shutouts in 2024. On the year, Allman has recorded 34 saves on 93 shots faced, earning a GAA of 0.89 and a save percentage of .810.
 
DEFENSE STANDING TALL
SRU's defense, comprised mostly of Diffenbacher, Smith, Zacharyasz and Nina King, have now recorded shutouts in three of their last four matches. The only goal that has been allowed was in Slippery Rock's 1-1 tie with No. 5 Gannon.
 
The Rock have limited opponents to an average of 2.8 shots on goal and 3.8 corner kicks through their last four games.
 
THE ROCK vs. RANKED OPPONENTS
Slippery Rock is unbeaten in its last four games against nationally ranked teams and has lost only once in its last seven matches against ranked opponents. Overall, SRU is 108-72-20 (.590) in ranked games.
 
The Rock's 1-1 draw with No. 5 Gannon last week marked SRU's best result against a top-five opponent in eight years. Slippery Rock played No. 3 East Stroudsburg University to a 1-1 draw in 2016.
 
Slippery Rock tied a No. 2 West Chester University team 1-1 in 2011 but have not beaten a team ranked better than fifth. The No. 5 Golden Rams of WCU dropped a 3-1 contest to an unranked SRU crew in 2007. The Rock have also beaten the No. 6 team in the nation twice, defeating California (Pa.) in 2013 and 2014 in a pair of shutout victories.
 
Most recent games against ranked opponents:
Oct. 2, 2024: T, 1-1 vs. No. 5 Gannon
Oct. 18, 2023: W, 2-1 vs. No. 18 Mercyhurst
Nov. 15, 2019: W, 1-0 vs. No. 23 East Stroudsburg
Sept. 8, 2019: W, 2-1 vs. No. 19 West Virginia Wesleyan
 
TO THE TOP OF THE TABLE
Slippery Rock moved into a tie for first in the PSAC West for the first time this season after defeating California last week. The Rock are tied with Gannon at 14 points on four wins and two draws (4-1-2) but have played one more conference game than the Golden Knights this year.
 
Slippery Rock was also mentioned in the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region rankings for the first time in 2024 by landing ninth Oct. 8.
 
SRU is now halfway through PSAC West play, beginning its second round-robin lap around the Western Division with a road trip to Seton Hill University Oct. 12. The top four teams in the PSAC West at the end of the regular season will qualify for the PSAC Tournament.
 
UNBEATEN THROUGH FOUR
The Rock are looking to extend an undefeated streak to five for the 26^th straight season. SRU has put together at least a five-game unbeaten stretch once per year since 1998, which was just the sixth year of The Rock women's soccer program's existence.
 
The Rock ended their 2023 regular season on a nine-game undefeated run, going 7-0-2.
 
TEAM OFFENSIVE STATS
The Rock rank well throughout the conference and nationally in Division II in multiple offensive categories:
 
• 2.2 assists per game (2^nd in PSAC, 12^th in D-II)
• 6.3 corner kicks per game (4^th in PSAC, 28^th in D-II)
• 2.1 goals per game (5^th in PSAC, 51^st in D-II)
• 6.4 points per game (4^th in PSAC, 27^th in D-II)
• 17.4 shots per game (3^rd in PSAC, 27^th in D-II)
• 8.2 shots on goal per game (4^th in PSAC, 35^th in D-II)
 
FINDING SCORERS
No team in Division II has tallied as many assists this season as Slippery Rock, which ranks on top of the nation with 32 total assists.
 
Leading that effort is Patrick, who ranks second in the PSAC and fifth in Division II with seven assists, 0.8 per game. Patrick became Slippery Rock's all-time leader in assists earlier this year by improving her career tally to 28.
 
HOLDING DOWN THE FORT
While Slippery Rock will not be able to extend its 14-game unbeaten streak at James Egli Field Wednesday, SRU will still look to grow a 12-game undefeated run at home when matches at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium are factored in.
 
In the last five years, Slippery Rock has put together an impressive 35-6-11 (.779) record at home, highlighted by a 7-0-2 stretch in 2023. Last season's strong home stance marked the team's first perfect record on home soil since 2007's 12-0 effort.
 
The Rock's last game at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium was a 6-1 season-opening win over Davis & Elkins College last year.
 
The Rock are still undefeated at home this year, looking to defend its 1-0-2 home record against Ashland.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Slippery Rock is 4-3-3 in its last 10 non-conference matchups, spanning the last five years. The Rock can play more than two non-conference games this year due to the absence of dates against now-Division I Mercyhurst University and are playing three non-conference matches for the first time since 2012.
 
Slippery Rock has played teams from the G-MAC just twice since the conference's inception in 2011, a home and away series with Walsh University in 2018-19. The Rock defeated the Cavaliers on the road 1-0 in 2018 before falling to Walsh at home by the same score a year later.
 
Prior to that, the last time SRU played a team that is now a member of the G-MAC was its most recent meeting with Ashland in 1999. The Eagles were members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1995-2021.
 
NEARING WIN #100
Head coach Jessica Giegucz is just one win away from her 100^th career win at the helm of the Slippery Rock women's soccer program. Giegucz, who is now in her 10^th season leading The Rock, has amassed a 99-44-23 record in her time with SRU.
 
Giegucz picked up her 100^th overall career win last year. As the head coach of Division III Northland College in 2014, Giegucz brought an 11-9-1 record when she joined The Rock in 2015.
 
RECORD WATCH
Patrick and Sarver have both solidified themselves in the top 15 all-time in shots attempted. Sarver jumped past Ashley Rea for ninth place with 138 shots, while Patrick ranks 15^th with 114 total shot attempts.
 
With 56 points, Patrick is now tied for 17^th all-time with Lauren Steele. She is eight points out of the top 10, guarded by Jen Canucci and Beth Kimball with 64.
 
Spending any time on the field at all Wednesday night would mark the 67^th consecutive game played by Patrick, putting her in sole possession of ninth all-time in that category. If Patrick starts the next two games, she will become one of only four players (Haley Burkholder, Dana Kiger, Izabel Scott) who have ever started 68 straight games for The Rock.
 
Allman has now firmly entered the top 10 in all-time SRU saves with 82, three behind Melinda Swan's 85 in ninth. Allman also stacks up eighth with 16 all-time wins, third with six career ties and 10^th with 10 total shutouts. Playing one more game will put her in a tie with Jen McCormick for eighth all-time with 29 games played.
 
THE EAGLES BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 7-1-1
G-MAC Record: 5-0-1
Home Record: 3-0-1
Away Record: 4-1
PSAC West Rank: 1^st of 12
Streak: W3
Last Five: 4-0-1
Head Coach: Cayleb Paulino | Fourth season at Ashland (56-7-11, .831)
 
ASHLAND SCOUTING REPORT
The fourth-ranked Eagles are looking to extend an eight-game undefeated streak in which only one goal has been given up. Ashland has allowed just two goals this entire season, falling to No. 7 Grand Valley State University in its season opener. The team went 19-1-4 last year, outscoring opponents 55-5.
 
Ashland's last unranked regular season loss came 38 games ago via a 2-1 loss to Cedarville University in 2022. The Eagles were ranked second nationally last year when they were eliminated from the NCAA Division II tournament in the Round of 16. Ashland was also ranked No. 1 for six straight weeks last year, beginning 2023 with a 12-0-1 record.
 
Ashland is second in Division II only to Concordia University Irvine in California in scoring defense, giving up an average of 0.2 goals per game. Offensively, the Eagles rank second in the G-MAC with 5.7 points and 15.1 shots per game. Their largest threat might be the team's depth, averaging 15 substitute players per game.
 
Junior Dani Hicks leads the team and ranks 21^st in Division II with 1.8 points per game. Her 16 points in nine games have come on seven goals and two assists. She has also taken 30 shots, fourth in the G-MAC with 3.3 shot attempts per game.
 
Goalkeepers Maddie Dolenga (2-0-1) and Mackenzie Simon (5-1) have both played one half of every game this year, with Dolenga getting six of the nine starts. Both come in with a GAA of 0.22 and save percentages of .917 and .923 respectively.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Rock will start round two of PSAC West play with a 12 p.m. kickoff at Seton Hill Saturday. The Rock and the Griffins played to a 1-1 draw earlier this year at James Egli Field.





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