No. 10 West Chester Opens Season With 19-8 Win

Box Score

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Ashley Pyle (Springfield, Pa./Garnet Valley) and Hannah Cowan (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) each scored four goals, and Dina Cifelli (Robbinsville, N.J./Notre Dame) finished with eight points, to lead 10th-ranked West Chester to a 19-8 win over visiting Chestnut Hill in a soaking wet season opener at Vonnie Gros Field Wednesday afternoon.
 
West Chester (1-0) jumped out to an 8-1 lead 10 minutes into the contest and never looked back in the win over Chestnut Hill (0-1).
 
Cowan scored all four of her tallies in the first 15 minutes of the game. Two of her four goals were courtesy of Cifelli, who finished with six assists. Pyle scored three of her four markers in the first half and finished the afternoon with five assists. Freshman Sami Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) posted a hat trick in her first college game.
 
Trailing 8-1 just 10 minutes into the tilt, Chestnut Hill scored three straight goals to cut its deficit in half at 8-4. However, Golden Rams head coach Ginny Martino called a timeout. Her defense responded, holding the Griffins scoreless for the next 31 minutes while the Rams' offense rattled off 11 unanswered tallies to push the game out of reach at 19-4.
 
Erin Gallagher (Narbeth, Pa./Lower Merion) finished the game with two goals and two assists. Erin Eckert (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) scored a pair of goals and assisted on another.
 
So., GK Paige Mitros (Glen Mills, Pa./Garnet Valley) made three saves to pick up the win in the cage for West Chester. Her counterpart Katie Joe Lang was credited with nine saves in the loss.
 
Chestnut Hill's Emorie Keimig led the Griffins with three goals.
 
West Chester is back in action at Vonnie Gros Field on Saturday, March 5 when the Philadelphia University Rams come calling in a non-league tilt.