West Chester’s Women’s Soccer team clinched a PSAC playoff berth with two wins this week against conference rivals Lock Haven and Clarion, with one game left to go in the regular season.
The Lady Rams will be the No. 2 seed in the PSAC tournament, which begins November 3.
Against Lock Haven, the Rams jumped out to an early lead in the ninth minute, when Kara Parvel sprinted down the right side of the field, crossed it into the box, and found Cynthia Hagerty, who beat the goal keeper for her third goal of the season.
About ten minutes later, the Rams’ offense was at it again; Parvel again found an open teammate, this time Lexi Brown, who lifted it over the goal keeper and into the back of the net. The goal was Brown’s fifth of the season.
Then, Parvel got in on the scoring. After receiving a pass from Haley Mangiaruga, Parvel ripped a shot from well outside the box, which dipped under the crossbar to put the Rams ahead 3-0 21 minutes into the game.
“Haley passed it back to me and I saw that I could take one touch to direct it towards the goal,” said Parvel. “I just hit it over the goalie’s head.”
Hagerty added her second goal of the game in the second half to give West Chester a 4-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Brown.
West Chester outshot Lock Haven 18-5 in the match as their offense controlled the majority of play throughout the game. Four of Lock Haven’s five shots were on net, but none were able to get passed the Golden Rams’ keepers. Alex Srolis made two saves in just under 76 minutes of play, and Madi Mitchell made the other two saves in the reaming 14 minutes of the contest.
“I think we are at our peak. We have really been connecting up top with simple combinations that are hard for the other team to handle,” said Parvel. “Also, we have really come together as a team to make this happen. As we defend as a team we are in the correct positions to win the ball and as soon as we win it, we look to counter attack.”
The Rams used that proven formula to continue their winning ways and extend their winning streak to six games when they defeated Clarion on Saturday.
Clarion was able to control the first half of play, outshooting the Rams 6-4, yet Srolis stopped all four shots on goal to keep the game scoreless heading into the half.
In the second half, the Rams took over, registering 10 shots and holding their opponent without a single shot attempt.
In the 62nd minute, Tayler Jamison headed the ball off the cross bar and into the net to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.
“Haley crossed it in and I made a run in front of the defense,” said Jamison. “I’ve been getting some good chances these last couple games and it was nice to put one away.”
Linzi Wolfe extended the Rams’ lead when she stole the ball from a defender and fired a rocket into the back of the net from seven yards out.
The Rams take on Seton Hill University on October 31, to wrap up their regular season. The Rams will look to continue their winning streak to keep the momentum going into the playoffs. As long as the Rams take care of business on Halloween, they should be able to handle Seton Hall as the Griffins are sitting in twelfth place with a 4-8-1 record in the PSAC.
During the Rams’ current six game winning streak, they are outscoring their opponents 19-0. After a tough three game stretch where the Rams went 1-2, it is safe to say that they are playing their best soccer when it matters most.
“Each week we have been getting better and improving as a group,” said Jamison. “We’re very hungry for a PSAC championship.”
The Rams will be looking to advance through the conference tournament where they presumably would meet Gannon University in the championship game. Gannon boasts an undefeated overall record of 16-0, while going 13-0 in the conference. Gannon defeated West Chester 2-1 earlier in the season. That was the fourth game of the season, so it was a long time ago. But the game was very close throughout, Gannon was just able to find the back of the net while West Chester’s shots were not.That was only one of two game where West Chester allowed more than one goal, the other being against Edinboro University. That was also a West Chester defeat. The defense has only gotten stronger since the game against Gannon, and if they do meet again they will be ready to go. And with West Chester’s offense clicking it would be a great rematch of two of the top teams in the region. Only time will tell if the Rams get a chance at redemption against their PSAC rivals.
For now they will focus on the next game which is against Seton Hill University to close out the regular season.
Billy Reardon is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at WR783095@wcupa.edu