WEST CHESTER, Pa. - No. 1 West Chester University outdistanced visiting Indiana (Pa.) by the score of 5-1 on a blustery and windy Saturday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field to clinch at least a share of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) regular-season title.
West Chester (15-2, 9-1 PSAC) will host the 2018 PSAC Tournament semifinals and finals next Friday and Sunday as a result of winning the regular-season title. The Golden Rams and East Stroudsburg (15-3, 9-1), which tied WCU for first place in the PSAC standings, each receive a bye into the semifinals. West Chester earned the right to host the tournament as a result of its 1-0 win over ESU on Halloween.
Katie Thompson (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) scored two goals while
Caitie McNamara (Buderim, Australia) added a goal and an assist and
Caitlin Kelly (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) chipped in a pair of assists.
Kaitlin Hatch (Sewell, N.J./Washington) opened the scoring in the 19th minute, and Thompson scored the first of her two on the day about nine minutes later, to give West Chester a 2-0 lead.
IUP struck next when Renee Lauter banged home a rebound off of her own original shot just before halftime.
West Chester put the game away with three unanswered tallies in the second half. Thompson scored her second of the day, and team-leading 12th of the year, three minutes into the second half. McNamara then added to the lead in the 61st minute, and
Kelsey Munster (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) added to that in the 64th minute.
Marissa Elizardo (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) made two saves. Her counterpart Olivia Accardi made 13 saves for the Crimson Hawks.
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