Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – I guess it wouldn’t be a West Chester vs. California (Pa.) women’s soccer game if it did not end in a stalemate. For the third straight time, these two PSAC powers played 110 minutes of soccer and settled nothing.
West Chester’s Jen Hutchinson ricocheted a shot from more than 30 yards out off the crossbar and down into the far left corner of the goal with four minutes remaining in regulation to give the host Golden Rams a 1-1 draw with No. 2 Cal, Tuesday afternoon at South Campus Field.
No. 12 West Chester carried the momentum from that goal into the first overtime period, but could not get the game-winner. The second 10-minute extra session was more balanced. Rams freshman goalkeeper, Shannon Fedyk, made a diving one-arm hand save of a shot by Erin Hogan midway through the second OT to preserve the tie.
That save was not to be outdone by Cal’s Paula Jackson, who punched a shot by Melissa McKeary over the crossbar as she was falling backwards, to keep the game knotted in the first OT session. McKeary nearly caught the 6-foot senior all-league keeper off her line for what would have been the game-winner.
That is exactly how Cal’s Kayla Fransko gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the second half. She booted a direct kick over Fedyk’s head, under the crossbar and into the goal in the 63rd minute to put the Vulcans on top.
For West Chester, it marked the fourth straight game in which the Golden Rams played into double overtime. The Rams are 1-0-3 in those four outings. In all four cases, West Chester trailed in the second half and came back to tie the score late.
Tuesday’s game pitted the top two teams in the Atlantic Region against one another, and the road does not get any easier for West Chester as they travel to Edinboro, ranked third in the region, on Saturday afternoon.
