The West Chester women’s soccer squad continued their incredible undefeated start to the season with a pair of wins this week against Mansfield and Shippensburg Universities, pushing their record to 8-0 on the season.
The No. 12 Golden Rams opened up the week at home with a matchup against Mansfield University. Leading goal scorer Scarlett Walsh opened things up for WCU in the 21st minute with her fourth goal of the season. Nine minutes later, Kara Parvel added on her third of the season to give West Chester a 2-0 heading into halftime. The Golden Rams outshot Mansfield 8-1 in the first half. Things slowed down a bit in the second half until the 76th minute when Jenny Bail made it a 3-0 for WCU with her third goal of the season. Taylor Jamison closed out the scoring in the game in the 81st minute with her first of the season, sealing the 4-0 victory for West Chester and moving them to 7-0 on the year. The second half showed the same dominance on both sides of the ball for the Golden Rams: outshooting Mansfield 9-0 in the second, and 17-1 for the entire game.
The depth of the team was very noticeable this game, as all four goals were scored by different players. Success comes easily when there are that many scoring threats on the field together.
The Golden Rams closed out the week on the road at Shippensburg on Saturday, Sept. 24. The game remained scoreless until the 66th minute when senior Lexi Brown scored her third goal of the season to give WCU a 1-0 lead. West Chester nearly had their sixth shutout of the season until Ashley Weaver tied the game for Shippensburg in the 88th minute, forcing overtime between the two sides.
Overtime didn’t last very long, and the Golden Rams won on an own goal by a Shippensburg defender to remain undefeated on the season. Goalkeeper Alex Srolis made four saves in the crease for WCU, while the Rams outshot Shippensburg 21-11 during the contest. An own goal certainly wasn’t what anyone predicted would be the goal to end it, but it’s a goal that the Golden Rams will certainly accept any day of the week, especially when it helps them move to a perfect 8-0 on the year.
Both a stellar offense and defense have been the bread and butter for the Golden Rams so far this season. Through eight games, they’re outscoring their opponents by an incredible 25-3, including five shutouts. West Chester looks to continue the success and to climb the rankings this week with matchups against Millersville and Edinboro Universities.
Dylan Harrison is a fifth-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at DH785892@wcupa.edu.