EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- Following a thrilling victory over previously unbeaten Kutztown on Saturday afternoon, the No. 24 West Chester women's soccer team returned to action on the road at East Stroudsburg.
Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) scored the first goal of the match in the 31
st minute to give West Chester a 1-0 lead, and the Golden Rams would never relinquish their lead en route to the 2-0 victory over East Stroudsburg.
After a steady offensive attack, which saw West Chester take five shots through the opening 30 minutes, the Golden Rams converted in the 31
st minute when Haughey used an assist from
Jacqueline Hug (West Chester, Pa/Unionville) to give the Purple and Gold an early 1-0 lead.
This lead would hold up for the balance of the first half as West Chester held its hosts to just one shot, which was saved by
Hayley McGee (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) in the final 14 minutes of the half to carry a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester applied steady pressure in the second half as the Golden Rams knew they needed to add another goal, recalling their own late-game heroics from the first meeting between the two rivals. In the 66
th minute, West Chester got the insurance goal it was looking for as
Julia Raybold (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) took an assist from Hug and converted for her third goal of the season to make the score 2-0 in favor of West Chester, which the Golden Rams would go on to win by.
East Stroudsburg battled throughout but applied substantial pressure late as the Warriors outshot the Golden Rams 13-5 in the second half to end the game with a 19-14 advantage in shots. Still, West Chester, led by an eight save effort from McGee, emerged victorious in the battle between the two league rivals.
East Stroudsburg also ended the contest with a narrow 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at home against Shepherd, with that contest set to begin at 12 p.m.
