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(Lock Haven, Pa.) - The
Lock
Haven
University
of
Pennsylvania
women’s soccer team (
10-11-2
) will face top-seeded
Slippery
Rock
University
(
14-2-2
) on Sunday, November 9, for the 2003 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Women’s Soccer Championship. The
title match is slated for a
1 p.m.
start. Tickets for the game will be
available at the gate. Cost of tickets is $7 for adults and $2 for
students.
Then There Were Two: The
six-team tournament field has been whittled down to two teams, top-seeded
Slippery
Rock
University
and the sixth-seeded
Lock
Haven
University
. Slippery Rock, ranked No-14 in
the nation, scored a 5-2 decision over
Millersville
University
in the semifinals to advance. Lock
Haven scored a 3-0 win in the quarterfinals against
Kutztown
University
before earning a 2-1 win against
West Chester
to move into title contention.
Lock
Haven
University
: The championship game appearance
marks the first for second-year head coach Shannon Champ and the sixth for the
Lady Eagle program. The Haven has
three titles on its record after stringing together consecutive championship
seasons from 1999-2001. Lock Haven
was also in the title tilt in 1997 and 1996, falling 2-1 to
East Stroudsburg
in 1997 and 3-2 against Bloomsburg in 1996.
The
Lady Eagles are led in scoring by freshman forward Martina
Hall (
Klagenfurt
,
Austria
(Ingeborg Bachmann) (7g, 3a), who
scored her seventh goal of the season in the semifinal match-up. Junior
forward Brooke Rangi (
Kawerau
,
New Zealand
/
Kawerau
College
) (5g, 4a) netted the game-winning
score against
West Chester
in the semifinals, her fifth goal of the year.
Lock
Haven has one of the conference’s assist leaders in freshman forward Holly
Homsher (Millersville/Penn Manor), who has accumulated 11 assists in
addition to two goals. Other offensive contributors include Joanna
Bisphan (
Hamilton
,
New Zealand
/Hillcrest) (5g, 2a), Caitlin
Sultzbach (Lititz/Warwick) (4g, 2a) and Danielle Smith (Johnson, N.Y./Minisink Valley) (4g, 2a).
Junior goalkeeper
Brandie Kessler (Bethlehem/Saucon Valley) had a big outing against
West Chester
, stopping eight of nine shots in the victory.
On the season, Kessler owns a 2.09 goals against average and has made 82
saves.
Slippery
Rock
University
:
Slippery
Rock
University
,
14-2-2
on the season, is ranked 14th nationally.
The Rock earned the top spot in the PSAC post-season tournament,
recording a
9-1-2
ledger against conference opponents over the course of the regular season.
Slippery Rock defeated fourth-seed
Millersville
University
, 5-2, on Friday in the semifinal round to capture its first championship game
appearance.
The
offense features three players with 10 or more goals directed by junior forward
Sarah Arsenault, who has scored 23 goals and six assists.
Freshman forward Lauren Steele has 16 goals and five assists, while
freshman midfielder Meghan McGrath adds even more scoring power with 11 goals
and nine assists.
Sophomore
goalkeeper Amanda Weir has posted a 1.21 goals against average, five shutouts
and 83 saves.
Earlier
This Season: Lock Haven and Slippery Rock played to a 2-2 tie after two
overtime periods on Sept. 20 at LHU’s Foundation Field.
Slippery Rock’s Sarah Arsenault and Meghan McGrath each scored to put
the Rock up by two goals at the half, but The Haven fought back in the second
half to knot the score at 2-2 in regulation.
Caitlin Sultzbach and Brooke Rangi netted the pair of Lady Eagle goals
to force the overtime. SRU out-shot
Lock Haven, 24-10, over the 120-minute stretch and had an 11-3 advantage in
corner kicks. Brandie Kessler
recorded nine saves for The Haven, while SRU keeper Amanda Weir had five saves.
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Junior forward Brooke Rangi
scored the game winner against
West Chester to advance the
Lady Eagles to the
PSAC Championship game
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