Box Score
Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - West Chester University’s women’s field hockey team downed fourth-ranked Indiana (Pa.), 2-1, in the second semifinal contest of the 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships at Vonnie Gros Field Friday evening.
West Chester (16-2) advances to its first PSAC championship game since 1983, the only other year in which WCU competed at the Division II level before last season, where the Golden Rams will face Millersville (14-6), which blanked top-ranked Shippensburg (17-2) in the other semifinal. The Marauders will be making their first trip to the conference finals since 1989.
Senior forward Kayla Gluchowski and junior Megan Callanan each scored for the Golden Rams with both coming in a physical first half of play. Gluchowski scored an unassisted goal in the 19th minute with a poke past IUP’s Sarah Lemieux.
“The goalie came out and (the ball) hit off her pads. She bobbled it,” Gluchowski explained afterwards. “I knew I could just flick it in. It was like slow motion watching that ball bounce in.”
Ten minutes later, Callanan finished off a relentless drive to the goal by teammate Kelsey Cheek, who had just been inserted into the game. Cheek dribbled down the right side and cut to the goal, ripping off a shot that IUP’s keeper initially saved. However, the ball bounced right onto Callanan’s stick, and she knocked it home for the game winner.
The Crimson Hawks would answer midway through the second half when Kate Bruce tipped in a loose ball off a hard slap shot from Chelsea Wanamaker.
The Golden Rams tightened up the pressure after the IUP goal as the Crimson Hawks were unable to get a good look the rest of the game.
“They moved one of their midfielders up to forward,” WCU midfielder Michele Schrift explained. “We knew we had to keep the ball out of our backfield. We just did a great job of stepping up to every single ball.”
The Golden Rams used their offense as a basis for the defense, keeping the game in the Crimson Hawks’ zone for most of the second half. West Chester banged 10 shots on goal in the game to IUP’s one. WCU senior goalkeeper Kristen Arnold made some key clears in the circle throughout the game.
“This team has shown all year that they understand the pressures they face each and every game,” WCU head coach Amy Cohen said. “Any PSAC opponent we play the second time around is always tougher. Tonight’s game was the same type of game,” Cohen added, referring to West Chester’s 3-2 win over IUP in the regular season at Vonnie Gros Field.
Millersville pulled off a massive upset over the top-seed out of the PSAC West and No. 1 nationally ranked Shippensburg Raiders, winning 1-0 in the first half of the doubleheader. The Golden Rams won both meetings with the Marauders this season (4-0 and 2-0).
