Tournament Central
Game Notes
KUTZTOWN, Pa.- For the 18
th year in a row and the 14
th year under the leadership of head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley, the West Chester women's soccer team (11-4-2) is preparing for its NCAA Tournament opener on Friday afternoon. West Chester, who earned the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will travel to the home of top-seed Kutztown to face No. 4 seed Charleston (15-5-0) in a first-round NCAA Tournament battle on Friday for the right to play top-seed Kutztown on Sunday.
Ticket prices for each day of competition will be $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens/students with ID, and $3 for children ages 2-12. Tickets may be purchased online via the following
link. Additionally,
live stats and
video of the game will also be available for fans unable to make the trip on Friday afternoon.
In her career at West Chester, Kempf Townsley has won 214 games, but she has never faced Charleston until their meeting on Friday afternoon. Kempf Townsley not facing Charleston in her coaching career at West Chester is only slightly surprising when one considers that the last meeting between the two programs came during the 1996 season when the Golden Rams rolled past the Golden Eagles by a 7-1 final. Under her tutelage, West Chester has played to a record of 11-10-6 in the NCAA Tournament with six Atlantic Region titles. Additionally, West Chester has never lost to a Mountain East opponent, entering play on Friday with a record of 3-0-2 in such meetings.
West Chester enters this matchup on the heels of a strong regular season, which saw the Golden Rams play to a record of 11-3-2 and earn the third seed in the PSAC Tournament. This seed sent West Chester on the road to second-seeded Bloomsburg, where the Golden Rams fell by a final of 1-0 to bring their PSAC Tournament run to an early conclusion. Despite this early Tournament exit, the Golden Rams enjoyed another solid season, which included an impressive month of September that saw them play to a record of 5-0-1, surrendering just two goals while outscoring their foes 18-2 in these matchups. West Chester started October with a pair of setbacks before rebounding nicely and winning six in a row to conclude the month, including a 2-1 decision over No. 3 ranked and previously unbeaten Kutztown at Keystone Field in Kutztown.
Freshman
Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) has enjoyed an outstanding rookie season, as she currently leads the team in both goals (6) and points (16). Haughey also ranks in a tie for second on the team in assists with four on the year, while
Antonia Linus (Huntington Valley, Pa./Penn Charter) sits just ahead of the handful of Golden Rams with four helpers with five of her own on the season. West Chester has been remarkably balanced throughout the season as 17 different Golden Rams have found the back of the net while seven different Golden Rams have scored two or more goals for the team this season. While Haughey leads the squad with six goals,
Maggie Lena (Santa Monica, Cal./Santa Monica) and
Julia Raybold (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) are close behind with four goals each, while
Madison Bowman (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport),
Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South), and
Jenna Peters (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) have three goals each with
Gabrielle White (Chadds Ford, Pa./Unionville) rounding out the contingent with two goals of her own so far this season.
Defensively, West Chester has been led by PSAC East First Team selection
Mikaela Berg (Rising Sun, Md./Rising Sun) and junior goalkeeper
Hayley McGee (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley). McGee enters play with a record of 10-4-1 on the year, eight shutouts, and a minuscule 0.65 goals-against average, which allowed her to end the season ranked among the top keepers in the PSAC.
As a team, West Chester and Charleston bear remarkable similarities to each other as the Golden Rams average 2.06 goals per game and allow an average of o.71 goals per contest while the Golden Eagles enter play averaging 2.05 goals per game and 0.70 goals per contest.
The Golden Eagles have also shown themselves to be a well-balanced team this season on the offensive end as 14 different players have found the back of the net through tier 20 games, led by Keira Hill, who leads the team in all major offensive categories. Entering play on Friday, Hill leads the team in goals (9), assists (7), and points (25) while also leading the team in game-winning goals with four on the season. In addition to the threat that Hill provides, Laura Vierhout and Sydney Cavender rank second and third on the team in scoring with eight goals and 19 points and six goals and 13 points, respectively. Between the pipes, Kaylee Hensley has played the lion's share of the time in goal this season, appearing and starting in all 20 matches for the Golden Eagles, entering play with a record of 15-5-0, a 0.65 goals-against average, and a .835 save percentage.
With a victory on Friday afternoon, West Chester will earn its awaited rematch with Kutztown, whom the Golden Rams engaged in a pair of classic battles with earlier this season to split the season series. In the first meeting at Kutztown early in October, West Chester trailed by one at the half but scored two goals in the second half, including the game-winner in the closing moments of regulation to earn the 2-1 road upset over the previously unbeaten and No. 3 ranked Golden Bears. In the most recent meeting between the rivals, Kutztown visited Rockwell field on the final day of the regular season and escaped with a narrow 1-0 victory over the Golden Rams.
