WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Jacqueline Hug (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) scored with just over one minute to play in regulation off a cross from PSAC Tournament MVP
Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South) to lift top-seeded West Chester (20-0-1) to a 1-0 victory over an upset-minded West Virginia State (17-3-2) squad on Saturday afternoon.
"This was a great win," opened head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley. "I thought we showed a lot of character and gave great persistent effort throughout the game, especially in the second half. I also have to credit WVSU; they are a great team and came in with a great game plan and great organization in the back to make this a really good game."
"Our first time in the National Tournament in program history, and I am so proud of this team," opened West Virginia State head coach Lisa Mann. "We exceeded expectations this season and can't ask for more than what our girls did this weekend. West Chester is a very good team that goes deep in the Tournament every year, and we were able to stay right with them, which makes me very proud," continued Mann.
With this victory, West Chester advances to the NCAA Atlantic Regional Final for the third year in a row and the fourth time in its last five NCAA Tournament appearances dating back to the 2017 season. The 2017 season, which was also the last time West Chester had played for a PSAC Tournament Title until a week ago, is also the last Regional Title for the Golden Rams as WCU defeated East Stroudsburg in a thriller on the campus of Mercy College.
"We had to really dig deep and find grit," noted senior captain
Deanna Lebotesis (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) when asked about the victory. "They (WVSU) had a good high press, which was tough for us to defend, but we took it seriously all the way and were able to pull out a victory late."
West Chester knows it will see another PSAC member school in the Regional Final for the third time in the last four finals; however, whether that will be PSAC runner-up Gannon or old Eastern Division rival Kutztown remains an open question as those two teams will face off on Sunday afternoon in Erie. The site of the Regional Final, which will occur at the end of next week, also remains to be seen as the final will be played at the home of the highest remaining seed in the East Region, which will be determined after play concludes tomorrow afternoon.
West Chester dominated possession throughout the match, ending the game with a 26-12 advantage in shots, including a 16-7 lead in this category in the second half to go along with a 12-3 lead in corner kicks as the top-seeded Golden Rams survived an upset-bid by fifth seed West Virginia State.
Julia Raybold (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) generated a great opportunity late in the first half, taking a shot from outside the box, which was saved by a diving keeper, the ball squibbed away from her, but her defense was able to clear it and avoid the danger.
West Chester opened the second half with a few substitutions to the second-half starting lineup, which provided a great burst of energy and nearly in resulted in an early goal from a host of different players, including
Maggie Lena (Santa Monica, Cal./Santa Monica) and
Nicolette Harrison (Perkasie, Pa./Penn Ridge).
"West Chester came out quickly to start the second half, moving the wings down, which was able to give them some early success, but we changed our shape to cover those areas, and it worked for a little while, so it was definitely tough to concede a goal right at the very end," explained Mann.
As the half wore on, West Chester continued to knock on the door, applying consistent pressure to the Yellow Jacket defense but had difficulties finding the eventual game-winner until the final moments of regulation.
Finally, with a minute-and-a-half to play in regulation, West Chester got the goal it was seeking when Cutter got free and streaked down the far sideline, dribbled the ball around her defender into the corner of the box and sent a perfect pass into Hug, who deposited the ball past a diving keeper to give the Golden Rams a late one-goal lead.
"We had opportunity after opportunity to finish, and in games like this, you think it's coming, it's coming, but we know that soccer can be an evil game too, so we were excited to get that goal," said Kempf Townsley. "That goal is a huge credit to our players for pushing through and remaining hungry to break through and score late."
"I don't remember much about the goal, to be honest," said Hug. "I know AC sent a great ball in, and I just got my foot on it as almost a Hail Mary-type attempt, and it worked out. I'm super excited for these next few weeks, this team is really special, so I can't wait to see what lies ahead," concluded Hug.
Defensively, West Chester did an excellent job in neutralizing the West Virginia State offense, making it difficult for the Yellow Jackets to maintain possession of the ball and limiting them to just 12 shots, with only six of those shots finding their way on goal, all of which were handled by
Hayley McGee (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) who ended the match with six saves in the shutout victory.
The Yellow Jackets leading scorer, Fran Soares Cupertino, who entered play with 18 goals and scored a pair in the First Round on Thursday afternoon, was kept reasonably quiet throughout the match, taking just four shots, with only one finding its way on target.
When asked about defending one of the top goal scorers in the Atlantic Region in Soares Cupertino, Lebotesis said, "She is a great player, but we tried our best to hold her and keep our composure throughout the match. We didn't want to dive or do too much, so we did what we've done well throughout the season, stay composed, cover, and support each other, and we were able to be successful. The Golden Rams senior back did acknowledge that facing an offense as potent as the Golden Rams every day in practice is helpful, saying, "The talent on this team is amazing. All of our forwards are crazy good, and going up against them in practice is always hard, so it is definitely great preparation for facing a great opponent like her."
Defensively for West Virginia State, Laura Galindo was outstanding, making nine big saves, including a leaping stop on a shot that nearly snuck inside the far post by
Jordyn Dupes (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) to keep the game scoreless in the second half.
Up Next:
West Chester will now resort to scoreboard watching on Sunday afternoon to learn who it will face as well as where and when the Regional Final will be played next week.
