WEST CHESTER, Pa. - West Chester will host the semi and championship rounds of the PSAC tournament from Vonnie Gros Field on Friday and Saturday. The Golden Rams take on East Stroudsburg at 1 p.m. Friday.
The Golden Rams finished the regular season at 16-2 and 13-1 in the conference to win the regular-season championship and receive the No.1 seed and accompanying first-round bye for the second time since moving to Division II in 2011. Tickets to the quarterfinal round match are $7 for adults and $2 for children. Fans with a valid ID from any of the PSAC member institutions will be admitted free. No comp tickets are available. Only PSAC passes will be honored at the main entrance.
The Golden Rams will take on No. 4 East Stroudsburg (10-8, 8-6 PSAC) after the Warriors defeated No. 5 Mercyhurst by a score 2-1 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. West Chester defeated East Stroudsburg in the regular season, 6-1, at home in early October.
PSAC Freshman of the Year,
Rachel Toppi (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro) will be the biggest threat for the Golden Rams leading the team with 40 points and 19 goals to go with seven game-winners throughout the season. So., F
Marnie Kusklvitch (Pittston, Pa./Holy Redeemer) provided 11 goals and four assists to contribute to the winning mentality.
Juniors
Kristina Scherrer (Enola, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and
Alayna Brown (Telford, Pa./Souderton) will be in charge of making plays and delivering the ball to their teammates as they combined for 17 assists on the season, both a top the team in assists.
The team as a whole out shot its opponents, averaging 21.3 shots per game to opponent's 8.4. They collectively keep the ball in their opponent's zone and limit their opponent's ability to put shots on their goal, causing opposing goalies to make 197 saves compared to their own goalie's 82. West Chester will be tough to beat at home as it ended up 9-1 at Vonnie Gros Field.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Millersville faces off against No. 3 Shippensburg at 3:30 p.m., directly after West Chester-East Stroudsburg contest. The two winners faceoff for the 2014 PSAC Field Hockey championship on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
They are 3-2 overall in the last three years in the PSAC conference tournament since joining division two and have won it once in 2012. Despite only winning one Conference Championship they have come back from falling short and delivered back-to-back national championships in 2011 and 2012 and looking for their third in the last four years.
