GAME NOTES
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) rivals collide for the third time Friday morning at 11 a.m. at South Campus Field on the campus of West Chester University in the Atlantic Region final of the 2010 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament. The East Region final will take place following the West Chester-Cal matchup. That contest features top-ranked Saint Rose versus No. 13 C.W. Post.
THE STORYLINE
West Chester University meets a familiar foe in the Atlantic Region championship match Friday morning as Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference rival California (Pa.) makes its second trip to Southeastern PA in as many weeks. The fourth-ranked Golden Rams (18-1-2) battle the 10th-ranked Vulcans (18-1-3) at 11 a.m. in the first of two games to decide the regional champion. The winner moves on to the national quarterfinals to take on the winner of Friday’s second game between College of Saint Rose (22-0-0) and C.W. Post (14-1-4). Those two schools square off for the Eastern Region championship at 1:30 p.m. at West Chester’s South Campus Field.
Neither side is a stranger to this round. Cal is making its second straight appearance in the Atlantic Region final. The Vulcans are the defending regional champions having defeated Indiana (Pa.), 2-0, a year ago to advance to the quarterfinals. Cal eventually fell to Saint Rose, 1-0, in Albany, N.Y. to end its season 19-6-1 overall.
West Chester is making its fifth appearance in six years in the regional championship game. WCU is 3-1 in its previous four appearances in the regional finals. The Golden Rams last ventured this far into the postseason in 2008 when a 1-0 setback at home to Mercyhurst ended West Chester’s season prematurely. That contest was played inside John A. Farrell Stadium after a snowstorm the morning of the third round games that year left field conditions unplayable at South Campus Field. Mercyhurst eventually lost to Saint Rose in the quarterfinals, beginning the Golden Knights’ two-year run of national semifinal appearances, which they look to add to this weekend.
The Golden Rams were Northeast Region champions in 2005, 2006 and 2007, before the NCAA realigned and re-named some regions and placed West Chester in the Atlantic Region beginning in 2008. The Golden Rams have never won the Atlantic Region title. West Chester reached the national semifinals in 2006, falling to eventual national champion Metro State in overtime in the semifinals. It was the Golden Rams’ lone defeat that fall.
OZZIE’S WORLD
Senior forward Sarah Oswald has authored one of the most prolific college soccer careers in West Chester University history. The diminutive forward ranks third all-time on the school’s scoring charts with 148 points and is third as well on the all-time goal scoring chart with 58. She broke the school’s all-time assist record with her 32 career helpers. Oswald was named the PSAC player of the year this fall.
All-Time Scoring Leaders
Pl. Pts Name (G-A) Years
1. 161 Heather Allgyer (66-29) 1996-99
2. 150 Julie Karcher (66-18) 2003-06
3. 148 Sarah Oswald (58-32) 2007-10
All-Time Goal Scoring Leaders
Pl. Gls Name Years
1. 66 Heather Allgyer 1996-99
2. 66 Julie Karcher 2003-06
3. 58 Sarah Oswald 2007-10
All-REGION ACCOLADES
Five West Chester Golden Rams were named to the Daktronics, Inc., Atlantic Region squad as voted on by sports information directors from the WVIAC and PSAC. Sarah Oswald, Jessica Bennett and Tara Malkiewicz were first team honorees and now move on to the national ballot for an opportunity to be named a Daktronics, Inc., All-American. Cindi Nickles and Lyndsie Bernardini were named to the second team all-region squad.
ALL-LEAGUE PLAUDITS
West Chester University senior forward Sarah Oswald was named the player of the year for women’s soccer in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) it was announced by the league office Wednesday morning.
West Chester was well represented with six players receiving all-league accolades. Five of those players were first team honorees.
Oswald is the second Golden Ram in the last three seasons, and the third in the last five, to earn athlete of the year honors. Former teammate Lauren Boyer was the East Division player of the year in 2008, and former Golden Rams standout Casey McKinney was honored as the East player of the year in 2006.
Joining Oswald on the all-league squad from the Golden Rams were first team repeat honorees: Jessica Bennett, Lyndsie Bernardini, Tara Malkiewicz and Cindi Nickles, and third team pick Lara Bodenstab.
First Team
F - Sarah Oswald (2007-10)
M - Jessica Bennett (2009-10)
D - Cindi Nickles (2009-10)
D - Tara Malkiewicz (2009-10)
GK - Lyndsie Bernardini (2009-10)
Third Team
M - Lara Bodenstab (2010)
HOME SUCCESS IN NCAA’s
West Chester has played host to at least one NCAA Tournament game in each of the last six years. The Golden Rams are a combined 8-2-0 in their 10 NCAA home games since 2005.
Friday marks West Chester’s fifth straight home contest as the Golden Rams hosted the PSAC Tournament and the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. West Chester has a unique opportunity this fall to host each round of the NCAAs right up until the national semifinals in Louisville, Ky., the first weekend in December. In 2006, West Chester took advantage of that very same scenerio as the Golden Rams qualified for the semifinals for the first time in school history.
WEST CHESTER vs. THE FIELD
West Chester University is a combined 13-2-3 overall against the three other teams in this weekend’s bracket. The most extensive history with any of the opponents is obviously with PSAC rival Cal. The Golden Rams are 10-1-1 all-time against the Vulcans and are riding an 11-game winning streak against Cal into Friday’s Atlantic Region final. The Vulcans have not beaten the Golden Rams since the two school’s initial confrontation in 1995. Cal downed West Chester, 3-1, on that occasion.
The Golden Rams are 3-0-2 all-time against C.W. Post. The last time these two schools met was in the NCAA Tournament in 2007. The game ended in a 0-0 tie with the Rams coming out on top in penalty kicks. These two institutions are PSAC rivals on the football field. They are also very familiar foes in women’s lacrosse. The Pioneers defeated West Chester in the 2007 NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse final with the Golden Rams exacting revenge one year later to claim the national title.
West Chester and Saint Rose have met just once in their storied soccer histories. Saint Rose claimed a 1-0 victory in the regular season in 2008.
STAR-STUDDED FIELD
Four of the top 13 ranked schools in Division II will be battling it out this weekend at South Campus Field, including the nation’s top-ranked squad in College of Saint Rose. West Chester comes in at No. 4 while California (Pa.) is No. 10 and C.W. Post No. 13. Only the South Central Region can boast of four teams ranked in the top 13 playing out the third round and quarterfinals this weekend. No. 2 Central Missouri, No. 8 St. Edward’s (Texas), No. 9 Seattle Pacific and No. 12 UC San Diego are all in Missouri to decide their final four participant. However, only the Atlantic and East Regions can say that two of the top four teams in the country will compete in the same place this weekend.
PREVIEW: ST. ROSE vs. C.W. POST
The Golden Knights have never met the Pioneers in a postseason contest. C.W. Post leads the all-time series (7-1-0). The two former New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC) opponents have met just twice (2008 & 2009) since 1999. The Pioneers took a 2-1 decision in the season-opener for both squads two years ago. However, the Golden Knights blanked C.W. Post 2-0 in a non-league affair last September 23.
Saint Rose is one of only two (Central Missouri) unbeaten or untied teams in the country.
