West Chester University’s women’s soccer rebounded in a big way, thrashing Wilmington University 7-0 on Tuesday Oct. 6, after losing their third game of the season in their previous match on Saturday, Oct. 3 to Edinboro University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference showdown.
The Lady Rams did not stop there as they went on to defeat Indiana University of Pennsylvania 4-0 on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The two straight wins improve the Rams’ record to 9-3, and 8-3 in the PSAC. Not only do the wins help their record, but they also give them a lot of confidence heading into the tail end of the season, with just five games to go before the start of the PSAC tournament.
Edinboro jumped out to an early lead against the Rams, scoring two goals in the first half and taking that 2-0 lead into the half. Both goals for the Fightin’ Scots were scored by Hallie Hammer, hammering home her fourth and fifth goals of the season.
Shannon Hoeveler was able to notch her first goal of the season, but it was not enough as the Rams went on to lose the game 2-1. Edinboro was able to hold West Chester scoreless until the 80th minute of play.
The offense, which had been sputtering a bit for a short stretch in the middle of the season broke out in a big way against Wilmington University. Scarlett Walsh led the Golden Rams’ attack in the first half, registering a hat trick in the first 45 minutes of play.
Lexi Brown tallied two goals in the win over Wilmington and Cynthia Hagerty and Marissa Valenti each recorded a goal. Alex Srolis picked up another win for the Rams, recording one save in 75 minutes of play. Madi Mitchell notched a save in the final 15 minutes of play.
West Chester’s offense was so dominant in their win over Wilmington that the ball was rarely on their defensive side of the field, and Wilmington was only able to muster up two shots on net throughout the entire contest.
On Saturday, West Chester’s offense came out firing on all cylinders, just where they left off after their game against Wilmington. They outshot IUP 24-2, again controlling play throughout the game.
They jumped out to an early lead in the sixth minute when Hagerti headed home her second goal in as many games, off an assist by Brown. Ten minutes later, the Golden Rams offense was at it again when Kara Parvel scored her sixth goal of the season to put the Rams on top 2-0.
With a little under three minutes left to play in the first half, Sara Bennis was awarded a penalty kick, and she beat the goal keeper to give the Rams a 3-0 halftime lead.
Linzi Wolfe notched her first goal of the year late in the second half to put West Chester ahead 4-0 off an assist by Tayler Jamison. Srolis recorded yet another shutout, stop both of the two shots that she faced in 90- minutes of play.
On Sept. 29, West Chester traveled to Millersville University to take on the Marauders. The Lady Rams fell behind in the first half when Nikki Parker tallied a goal for Millersville, but West Chester’s offense came alive after that point, scoring four unanswered goals on their way to a 4-1 victory over Millersville.
Parvel answered Parker’s tally with one of her own a minute after Millersville took the lead. Valenti notched the go-ahead goal on a header off of a corner kick, and Parvel and Erica Hansen put the game out of reach late in the second half to lead the Rams to a 4-1 victory.
The five remaining games that West Chester has on their schedule are all conference matches. Currently, the Golden Rams sit in second place behind Gannon University who has an 11-0 conference record. However, the Rams are not securely in second place yet with Kutztown and Edinboro right on their heels, both holding a 7-3 conference record. Their remaining schedule will be tough, but the way the Rams are controlling play in their last two contests, it will be very hard for any team to beat them.
With the Rams entering the most important stretch of their season, they are playing their best soccer. Their offensive has really begun to click on all cylinders and their defense continues to be one of the best in the PSAC. The two senior captains Sara Bennis and Erika Shrock do a great job of keeping everyone on the same page and communicating together as a team. They have been in this moment before and it shows.
The Lady Rams hit the road for two conference games next week, heading to East Stroudsburg University on Oct. 13, and Slippery Rock University on Oct. 17. Both teams are looking to make up ground in the PSAC standings as the season comes to a close.
Billy Reardon is a fourth-year student majoring in communications with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at WR783095@wcupa.edu