Box Score
ALBANY, N.Y. – No. 19 West Chester converted all five penalty kicks, and goalkeeper Brittany Barnes came up with a save on the opposition’s fourth attempt as the Golden Rams upset No. 7 C.W. Post in the third-round of the 2007 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championships at The Albany Academy for Girls Friday afternoon.
The win propels West Chester (17-2-3) into the quarterfinals for the third straight year where the Golden Rams will battle Franklin Pierce (16-1-5) for a third straight time on Sunday at The Albany Academy for Girls at 1 p.m. West Chester defeated Franklin Pierce a year ago to advance to the program’s first final four. The Ravens topped the Golden Rams in 2005.
The Golden Rams increased their unbeaten streak to six as a result of the shootout victory. The game officially will be recorded as a tie, moving West Chester’s overall record in the NCAAs to 7-3-2. The Rams are 1-1 all-time in penalty kicks in the NCAAs.
Both squads made good on their first three attempts in the shootout. Junior Brittany Yetter nailed the first and then first-year head coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley made an interesting move by selecting reserve goalkeeper Hilary Smart to take the second shot. Smart was good to the task after sitting 110 minutes in the 30-degree temperatures and gave West Chester a 2-1 advantage in the kicks.
Danielle Gerz and Lauren Boyer then stepped up to the dot and buried each of their attempts, which put West Chester in front 3-2. That is when Barnes came up with a save on Post’s Ivana Babic to preserve the Golden Rams’ lead after four rounds.
Senior midfielder Lauren Ginnona then converted on West Chester’s fifth attempt to clinch the team’s third straight Northeast Regional title.
Barnes made three saves in regulation, extending her consecutive shutout streak to 594 minutes. She moves to 6-1-1 on the year with seven shutouts.
West Chester has now knocked off three straight nationally ranked opponents in each of its last three games. The Rams advance to take on No. 16 Franklin Pierce Sunday.
Neither side was able to gain a sizeable advantage on the slick pitch in a match that was somewhat physical to account for 31 fouls between both clubs. Freshman forward Sarah Oswald nearly got the Golden Rams on the board in the 51st minute, ripping a shot from the top of the penalty box that was turned aside by C.W. Post senior keeper Kim Yacenda.
In the opening stanza, the Pioneers (17-1-3) almost broke the ice when freshman forward Ivana Babic hit a shot off a set piece that Barnes stopped to diffuse the scoring threat.
