Fresh off of a 3–0 shutout against Slippery Rock University, the West Chester Golden Rams field hockey team looked to do more of the same against Bloomsburg University.
This matchup promised to be a back-and-forth affair as both teams came into the game sporting top 10 rankings. West Chester was the higher ranked of the two teams as they were fifth with a 5-2 record and Bloomsburg was ninth with a 7-1 record.
The key player to keep an eye on in this matchup was junior forward Jasmine Miller. Against Slippery Rock University in the previous game, she contributed two goals and the week prior was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) athlete of the week. This was thanks to her three-goal performance against Mansfield, one being an overtime game winner
She has been on a tear for the Golden Rams this year, as she has scored more than half of their goals. The team as a whole has 19 goals, with Miller responsible for 10 of them.
This tear continued despite less than ideal conditions in the rain against Bloomsburg as West Chester pulled out yet another nail-biting victory in overtime.
It took a while for either team to get into a rhythm, but senior Paige Wolfe finally got the scoring started for the Golden Rams with her first goal of the season in the second quarter to make it 1–0.
Refusing to take their foot off of the pedal after halftime, Miller delivered her 11th goal of the season to increase their lead to 2–0.
The Bloomsburg Huskies were determined to go down fighting as they clawed their way back to knot it up at two and send the game into overtime behind goals from senior forward Emily Swineford and junior midfielder Bella Culp.
Bloomsburg’s junior goalkeeper Jackie Nevel put together an astounding performance to keep the Huskies in the game as she contributed 14 saves.
West Chester had 17 shots on goal compared to Bloomsburg’s three – the fact that the game was even close and ended up in overtime was a testament to her performance.
All those saves couldn’t stop Miller in overtime as she shined once again, picking up her second goal of the game and her 12th of the season, which leads the entire conference, in only eight games.
Heroics seem to come naturally to Miller as this was her second overtime game winner already in the early goings of the season.
Hopefully, these heroic exploits continue this Saturday, Sept. 30 against conference rival Mercyhurst University, who have a 2-6 record, as the Golden Rams look to improve to 7-2.
Colin Bradley is a fourth-year English major with a minor in Journalism. CB953277@wcupa.edu