The West Chester Lady Rams (13-7) were not supposed to make it all the way to the PSAC Championships, but this team has been one that never listened to what other people thought. Leading up to Saturday’s matchup against host California University of Pennsylvania (17-2-2), the Lady Rams faced two tough opponents away from home in Kutztown and Gannon.
The PSAC Championship was hosted by California University as West Chester came into the match as huge underdogs. Losing earlier this season, the ladies understood the importance to come out to a strong start especially away from home. Unfortunately for the Lady Rams, it wasn’t meant to be and the Vulcans would take care of the young Rams team by 3-0 count. Here was a game where the younger team, though talented, still needs the time to transform into a champion and the difference in the game was noticeable. With that loss, West Chester took themselves further than anyone else ever expected, and that’s something to be proud of.
Moving on to how West Chester made it the PSAC Championships is important in examining their growth throughout the season. Entering PSAC playoffs, the Lady Rams’ first contest had them face an impressive Kutztown Golden Bears team (12-6) at their home field, so it would be no easy task for West Chester. Facing some early adversity, the Golden Bears would score first by the 20th minute by Taylor Higgins to give Kutztown the 1-0 lead.
Many young teams would have trouble recovering but this West Chester team has been special all year. Just seven minutes later, West Chester’s Rachel Jackson would put back home a rebounded shot to tie the game up at one apiece. Then, without anytime for Kutztown to catch their breath, the Lady Rams would strike again in the 33rd minute with a header by the reliable Carly Yost. After that, the defense took over for the Golden Rams and only allowed Kutztown to record eight total shots for the entire match. With goaltender Alex Srolis saving two big shots and West Chester’s control of the ball, West Chester snuck out of Kutztown with a tight 2-1 victory.
After taking care of business on Tuesday, West Chester then had the test of going all the way out to California University for the PSAC semifinals against Gannon University (10-8-1). Though their record wasn’t as daunting as some of the teams the Golden Rams had faced, they did pull off one of the major upsets of the year in the PSAC. Gannon was able to defeat #2 ranked Slippery in the PSAC Quarterfinals, and now were feeling just as confident going in against the Lady Rams. West Chester had other ideas though.
The Lady Rams played an altogether tremendous game in the beginning, middle, and end of the match. It all started with a goal by Ashley Saylor in the 18th minute off a rebound. Next came a 39 minute goal from Carly Yost, and West Chester closed the door with a Scarlett Walsh goal in the 81st minute of play.
Being able to continue scoring throughout the game showed just how in control the Lady Rams were during the contest. Gannon never had much of a chance and West Chester was able to send home an underdog Gannon team with a 3-0 victory.
Though the Lady Rams weren’t able to accomplish their final goal of winning the PSAC Championship, it doesn’t mean that the season was a loss. They discovered great players who when working together can produce great results. Now it’s time for the Lady Rams to go into this offseason and work hard to continue improving to hopefully have the same opportunity next year.
We as a school are proud to be represented by such a great group women who will hope can bring us back a PSAC Championship next year!
Taylor Maren is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at TM 741168@wcupa.edu
Fri. Jun 9th, 2023
