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(Lock Haven, Pa.) - The
Lock
Haven
University
of
Pennsylvania
women’s soccer team (
9-11-2
) travels to
West Chester
University
(
11-4-3
,
9-1-2
PSAC) for a PSAC post-season tournament semifinal game on Fri., Nov. 7, at
1 p.m.
West Chester
had earned a bye in the first round after being seeded second in the field of
six. On Tuesday, the Lady Eagles,
the sixth seed, defeated No. 22-ranked
Kutztown
University
, the third seed, by a 3-0 margin to advance to the semifinal round.
Tickets
for the game will be available at the gate. Cost of tickets is $7 for adults
and $2 for students.
Tournament
Bracket Update: The field of six was narrowed to four yesterday afternoon,
Lock Haven eliminating
Kutztown
University
, 3-0, and the No. 4-seed
Millersville
University
(
14-5-1
) knocking No. 5 Edinboro University (
12-7-1
) out of contention with a 2-0 shutout.
Lock
Haven and
West Chester
meet in one of two semifinal match-ups, with the top-seeded
Slippery
Rock
University
(
13-2-2
,
9-1-2
PSAC) hosting
Millersville
University
in the other.
Lock
Haven
University
: The Lady Eagles continued their
quest for a fourth PSAC crown, surprising Kutztown for the 3-0 victory in the
quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Haven
received scoring from three different players in that win, to date boasting
eight players with two or more goals.
Kimberly Thompson (Ephrata/Ephrata) scored LHU’s opening goal in
the quarterfinal game off a corner kick play, giving the sophomore defender a
total of three goals and one assist on the season.
Taking the corner and earning the assist was freshman forward Holly Homsher (Millersville/Penn Manor), who also assisted on the
Lady Eagles’ third goal of the game. Homsher,
who has two goals this year, moved into a tie for the top spot in the
conference with a total of 11 assists after tallying the two on Tuesday.
Senior
midfielder Joanna Bisphan (
Hamilton
,
New Zealand
/Hillcrest) scored yesterday to boost her yearly output to five
goals and two assists, converting on a penalty kick in the first half. Netting
the third goal of the game and the first of her collegiate career was freshman
defender/midfielder Jennifer Meassick
(Endwell, N.Y./Maine Endwell).
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Holly Homsher assisted on two of
LHU's goals in its win over Kutztown.
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Offensively,
the Lady Eagles have also relied on freshman
Martina Hall (
Klagenfurt
,
Austria
(Ingeborg Bachmann) (6g, 3a),
junior forward Brooke Rangi (
Kawerau
,
New Zealand
/
Kawerau
College
) (4g, 4a), sophomore forward Caitlin Sultzbach (Lititz/Warwick) (4g, 1a), and junior defender Danielle
Smith (Johnson, N.Y./Minisink Valley).
The Haven defense posted its fourth shutout of
the season with the win over Kutztown, with junior keeper Brandie Kessler (Bethlehem/Saucon Valley) collecting her first
individual shutout of the season.
West Chester
University
: The Golden Rams are
11-4-3
and
9-1-2
, earning a share of the PSAC regular season title.
After coming up short in a tie-breaker with Slippery Rock to decide the
top seed for the tournament,
West Chester
took the No. 2 seed and received the first-round bye.
The Golden Rams
are currently ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region poll.
West Chester
’s four losses have come against Slippery Rock (2-0), No. 4-ranked Adelphi
(3-0), West Virginia Wesleyan (2-1) and
Philadelphia
University
(2-1). They are ranked first in the
PSAC in goals against with 14 (0.78 gapg) and in shutouts, registering 10 of
their 11 wins by holding their opponent scoreless.
Julie Karcher, a
freshman forward, leads
West Chester
with 11 goals and four assists. Sophomore
forward Alison Luberski (5g, 1a) and junior forward Nicole Thurston (4g, 3a)
add to the scoring power, while senior midfielder Heather Connelly (3g, 4a) and
sophomore midfielder Kayln Miller (10a) are also threats.
Defensively, the Golden Rams have allowed an average of 7.9 shots per game but
have given up only 14 goals all season, nine of those coming in their four
losses. Senior goalkeeper Ryan Levine leads those efforts, ranked second in the
PSAC with a 0.91 goals against average and is among conference leaders with 97
saves.
Earlier
This Season:
West Chester
trounced Lock Haven, 6-0, in the regular season match-up that was held in
West Chester
,
Pa.
, back on Sept. 13. Six different
Golden Rams posted goals, including Heather Connelly, Elma Numerato, Julie
Karcher, Robin Niles, Alison Luberski and Nicole Thurston.
Haven keeper Brandie Kessler posted seven saves over the span, while WCU’s Ryan Levine
registered two saves and Heather Rinker had three saves.
Historical
Note: Lock Haven and West Chester have met once
before in PSAC tournament action, Lock Haven defeating West Chester, 2-1, in
1999 for the program’s first-ever conference title.
Moving
On: The winner of Friday’s PSAC semifinal will
compete for the conference crown on Sun., Nov. 9, at the location of the
highest remaining seed.
###LHU###
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