No. 2 West Chester Blanks Top-Ranked Millersville, 2-0

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Caitlin Kelly (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) and Dara Spavlik (Hockessin, Del./Conrad Weiser) each scored a goal, and second-ranked West Chester's defense stymied top-ranked Millersville all evening in a 2-0 upset at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium Wednesday night.
 
West Chester (7-0, 2-0 PSAC) is now tied for first place in the league standings with East Stroudsburg and Kutztown, after handing Millersville (8-1, 1-1) its first loss of the season.
 
"That was a great game tonight," West Chester head coach Amy Cohen said. "Both teams played very well. What else can I really say."
 
The Golden Rams' stingy defense limited the Marauders to just eight shots on the night while becoming the first team this year to score more than once on Millersville in a contest. The Marauders actually held a 10-9 advantage in penalty corners, but still only mustered eight shots in the game.
 
"Katie Thompson is our flyer on corners," Cohen began. "And, I think she got her stick on almost every corner that they had. She just refused to give up a shot. That was a big key."
 
Spavlik scored her first college goal just three minutes into the contest when she slapped a reverse stick shot into the upper corner of the goal for an early 1-0 lead for the visitors. Caitlin Kelly later gathered in a lifted pass from Thompson and walked in on Millersville goalkeeper Autumn Peters in the 47th minute, giving the Golden Rams a 2-0 cushion.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Claire Nielsen (Wescosville, Pa./Emmaus) made three saves to earn her fourth consecutive shutout and improve to 7-0 on the season. She was brilliant in her first big game of the year. Her consecutive shutout minutes extend to 260:39 with Wednesday's blanking.
 
"She was awesome today," Cohen declared. "She did a great job of pressuring the shooters and forcing their hand. A lot of Millersville's shots went wide because she came out and challenged their forwards."
 
Peters made 10 saves at the other end of the field for the Marauders. West Chester held a decided 24-8 advantage in shots while only allowing three of Millersville's attempts to be on cage.