No. 14 West Chester Storms Past No. 24 Tiffin, 16-3

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – A contest that was moved up one day to avoid a nor'easter that is expected to crush the East Coast Wednesday, 24th-ranked Tiffin was caught up in a whirlwind storm created by No. 14 West Chester as the host Golden Rams downed the visiting Dragons, 16-3, at Vonnie Gros Field Tuesday afternoon.
 
West Chester (3-0) scored the first nine goals of the game and never looked back against Tiffin (1-2), which was coming off the biggest upset in school history over 8th-ranked East Stroudsburg in overtime on Sunday.
 
However, junior midfielder Maggie Stella (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) scored a career-high four goals, including a hat trick in the first 11 minutes of the game, and Sami Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) added three goals and three assists to lead the offensive charge. Tatum Altman (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) also tallied four times while adding one assist.
 
The Golden Rams won seven of the first 10 draw controls in the game to dominate the time of possession. The hosts parlayed that success (winning each of the first three draws) into three goals in the first five minutes of the game, before Tiffin ever had a chance to go on the attack. Freshman Drew McKinney (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) picked up a season-high 10 draws as the Golden Rams, who won the overall draw control battle, 15-6, did their most damage in the opening half by winning 10 of the 15 draws.
 
Tiffin turned the ball over 12 times in the first 30 minutes and was just 3-for-7 on clears as a result. For the game, the Dragons successfully cleared the ball just eight times in 18 attempts while West Chester went 9-for-11.
 
Tiffin scored a pair of goals back-to-back 17 minutes into the game. However, the seven-point deficit was as close as the visitors would get all afternoon.
 
Junior middie Emily Schulze (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) scored a goal and assisted on another. However, it was her three ground balls and three caused turnovers that stood out on Tuesday.
 
Nicole Martins (Bethlehem, Pa./Saucon Valley) picked up her third win in goal, making three saves in the first half. Julianne Clemens (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) came on in the second half and made three saves as well. Tiffin's counterpart, Kat Schneeberger was credited with nine saves in the loss.
 
West Chester begins a four-game road swing next Monday with a non-league tilt against Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina, before heading across the Tar Heel State to face Mount Olive on Wednesday. The Golden Rams will to the Keystone State on St. Patrick's Day for a road tilt against Slippery Rock, before heading to Kutztown on Mar. 20 for a night game against the Golden Bears.