DII Festival
West Chester Game Notes l Shippensburg Game Notes
Live Video l Live Stats
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - West Chester University is making its sixth appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament since 2011 when it re-classified. The Golden Rams face Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) rival Shippensburg in the first of two semifinals on Thursday at Arthur J. Rooney Stadium on the campus of Duquesne University.
Thursday's meeting is the third of the season between West Chester and Shippensburg. The Golden Rams claimed the regular-season meeting, 4-2, at the Robb Complex in Shippensburg, and then won the PSAC Championship with a 3-1 victory over the Raiders in the conference final almost two weeks ago.
West Chester is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament for the first time. The NCAA switched to a re-seeding process of the six qualifiers for the first time last fall. The Golden Rams did not qualify for the national tournament a year ago.
West Chester is 7-3 overall in its previous fi ve appearances in the Division II Tournament. The Golden Rams won the Division II national championship back-to-back in
2011 and again in 2012. Each time West Chester won the national championship it did so by beating Shippensburg somewhere along the way. The Golden Rams are 2-0 against the Raiders in the Division II Tournament.
West Chester's only two connections to its last national championship are on the coaching staff . Head coach
Amy Cohen was in her second year at the helm when she led
the Golden Rams to the national title for the second straight time. In addition, her current assistant coach,
Gabby Panasiewicz, was a backup goalkeeper on the 2011 national championship squad.
West Chester won four Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championships in consecutive seasons from 1975 to 1978. The Golden Rams have
won an overall total of six national championships in the sport of field hockey. The Golden Rams have never lost a national championship contest in either the AIAW, or the NCAA.
