Box Score
Box Score
LOWELL, Mass. – Kayla Gluchowski finished off a cross from Kelsey Cheek with 1:22 remaining that lifted top-ranked West Chester University to a 3-2 victory over No. 2 Shippensburg in the NCAA Division II Field Hockey national semifinals at Cushing Field on the campus of UMass-Lowell Friday afternoon.
West Chester (19-2) advances to the national championship game for the second straight year as the Golden Rams try to defend the title they won last November in Bloomsburg. Shippensburg (17-3) saw its season come to a close at the hands of West Chester for the second straight year.
“It was a team effort today,” second-year head coach Amy Cohen said after the win. “Our forwards played extremely well.”
Gluchowski netted her 12th goal of the season as time was winding down in regulation. Shippensburg’s Megan Jett tied the contest at 2-apiece six minutes earlier when West Chester’s goalkeeper, Kristin Arnold, misplayed the ball inside the circle. However, the Golden Rams more than made up for that in the final two minutes.
West Chester held a 2-1 advantage at halftime thanks to consecutive goals from Alexis Versak and Michele Schrift. Versak tipped in a blast from Kelsi Lykens in the 11th minute that tied the score at 1-1. It was her sixth goal of the season. Schrift then scored her team-leading 24th goal of the season when she hammered home a shot out of a scramble in front. Carley Buckwalter picked up an assist on Schrift’s goal.
Shippensburg’s Emily Kohlbus put the Raiders on top 1-0 six minutes in when she finished a pass from Lauren Taylor
“We went down a goal early, but remained composed and were able to capitalize on our next scoring opportunity.”
Arnold (19-2) made a pair of saves in the contest, backstopping West Chester to the national championship game for the second straight year. Ciarra Delost (13-3) made four saves for the Golden Rams.
West Chester plays the winner of the other semifinal between host UMass-Lowell and Merrimack. Sunday’s national championship game will be played at 1 p.m. and can be seen via web stream at
www.ncaa.com.
