No. 13 West Chester Outlasts 15th-ranked Queens (NC), 13-12

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sami Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) scored five goals, and Tatum Altman (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) added four more, as No. 13 West Chester held on for a thrilling 13-12 victory over No. 15 Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.) Monday evening at Dickson Field.
 
West Chester (4-0) remained undefeated on the season while Queens (1-5) dropped its fifth contest in six outings – though all six games the Royals have played this season have been against an opponent who was nationally ranked at some point this spring – including two of the top three teams in the country.
 
The Golden Rams defensive unit was stout towards the end of the contest, holding the Royals scoreless for a 10-minute period. Queens Allison Conn finished off her hat trick on the night with 11:34 to play, knotting the score at 11-apiece. That was all the Golden Rams allowed until the Royals' Hannah Scott got her team-high fourth of the evening with 1:40 to play. However, West Chester tallied twice 33 seconds apart during Queens' dry-spell to take a two goal lead. Scott's marker drew the hosts within one, but the equalizer never came.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Julianne Clemens (Springfield, Pa./Springfield (DELCO)) made a pair of saves in the second half to pick up her first win of the season in the cage. Starter Nicole Martins (Bethlehem, Pa./Saucon Valley) made five saves in the first half, exiting at halftime of a 7-7 tilt.
 
The non-league matchup saw five ties and three lead changes. Trailing by two goals late in the first half, West Chester buried a pair of shots in the back of the cage in the final two minutes to tie things up heading into the break. Altman then scored 32 seconds into the second half to give the visitors the lead, and West Chester would never trail again – though the game was tied on three occasions afterwards.
 
The teams combined for 56 turnovers. The difference came in the clearing game in the second half where West Chester forced four miscues by Queens and capitalized on each.
 
Barnett led all scorers with six points (5G, 1A) while Tara Morrissey (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) posted five points (1G, 4A). Junior Maggie Stella (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) scored a pair of goals. However, she did the most damage on draw controls, securing 11 possessions for the Golden Rams. West Chester held a decided 18-9 advantage in that category.
 
West Chester continues its southern swing on Spring Break Wednesday afternoon with a 1 p.m. faceoff with Mount Olive.