WEST CHESTER, Pa. –
Tara Morrissey (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) scored five goals, and
Tatum Altman (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) posted seven points, to lead No. 9 West Chester to a 21-6 victory over visiting Bloomsburg in between snow flurries on a cold and windy Tuesday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field.
West Chester (14-0, 9-0 PSAC) ran its season-opening winning streak to 14 games while remaining perfect in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play and atop the league standings while Bloomsburg (9-5, 5-4) dropped its second straight tilt. With the win, West Chester clinched a postseason bid to the PSAC Tournament. The Rams are working towards hosting that tournament.
The Golden Rams blitzed the Huskies right out of the gate, scoring the game's first eight goals in a little over nine minutes of play.
Maggie Stella (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) scored two of her three goals on the day, and dished out two of her three assists, during that opening buzz. Stella finished with six points.
West Chester won the first eight draws of the game and dominated the possession time. Bloomsburg's Grace Kelleher finally broke through with 17:11 left in the half, finding the back of the net on the Huskies' first shot attempt in the game. However, West Chester went right back to work, potting six straight to push the advantage to 14-1 with five minutes to play in the opening half. Morrissey and Altman each scored twice during that spurt.
The Huskies' Tracy Rusen netted her 32nd tally of the season with four minutes left in the half. But,
Rachel Noble (Wall, N.J./Wall) answered back with 1:11 to play, making it a 15-2 game at the break. The visitors had mustered just two shots and committed 11 turnovers in the first half while their hosts had taken 28 shots and only had to clear the ball out of their end four times – all four clears were successful.
Noble finished with a career-high two goals in the game, adding an extra-attacker goal in the second half. Freshman
Allie Ward (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) netted her first career goal in the final 30 minutes as well.
Julianne Clemens (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) picked up her 10th straight win without a loss in cage. She started and played the first half.
Nicole Martins (Bethlehem, Pa./Saucon Valley) made one save in the second half.
The Golden Rams' victory marked the fourth straight over Bloomsburg in the all-time series and the largest margin of victory since a 19-4 win in 2015.
West Chester hosts rival Lock Haven on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Vonnie Gros Field. The 2008 national championship squad, celebrating its 10-year anniversary of winning the NCAA Division II title, will be honored during a brief ceremony at halftime.
