LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- A pair of early second-half goals helped the West Chester University women's soccer team (9-3-2, 9-3-1) erase a first-half deficit and earn a 2-1 victory over Lock Haven (4-9-1, 3-8-1) on the road on Saturday evening.
West Chester's victory on Saturday night extends the Golden Rams current unbeaten streak while also at least temporarily extending the Golden Rams hold on second place to four points, pending the results of the Millersville/East Stroudsburg match, which is still in progress. Should East Stroudsburg defeat Millersville this evening, West Chester will retain a lead over the Warriors for second in the East. However, this advantage would be reduced to just one point entering the final two weeks of the regular season.
It was a three-minute stretch early in the second half, which flipped things for the Golden Rams on Saturday night as
Olivia Conroy (Toms River, N.J./Donovan Catholic) netted her first goal of the year in the 54
th minute before senior
Jacqueline Hug (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) scored the go-ahead goal in the 56th minute, just two minutes later to lift the Golden Rams to an important road victory.
West Chester opened the game with excellent pressure, getting five shots off in the first 15 minutes of play, including a pair from
Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter), which had to be saved by the Bald Eagles in the first five minutes of regulation.
Despite the early Golden Ram pressure, Lock Haven struck first, scoring in the 22nd minute when Avery Landrum used an assist from Trinity Seaman to give the Bald Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
Seaman had a shot blocked in the 18
th minute, which proved to be the Bald Eagles final shot of the first half as the Golden Rams ended the opening frame with a 9-3 lead in shots and a 4-0 lead in shots on goal.
While West Chester controlled much of the first half, the Bald Eagles did well defensively, keeping the high-powered WCU offense off the scoreboard heading to the halftime break.
In the 54th minute, West Chester's continued pressure paid off as Conroy scored the equalizer with an arcing shot into the upper left portion of the goal.
Hug broke the tie just over two minutes later, scoring her first goal of the game to give the visiting Golden Rams a 2-1 lead early in the second half.
West Chester continued to apply pressure as the second half progressed, limiting Lock Haven to just one shot in the second half, which was saved by
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove), holding on for a significant 2-1 road victory over the Bald Eagles.
West Chester ended the match with a commanding 21-4 lead in shots and a 10-2 advantage in shots on goal to go along with a 3-1 lead in corners.
Keen finished her night with one save for the Golden Rams, while her counterpart, Lock Haven keeper Megan Miller, registered seven stops in an effort to slow the Golden Ram offense.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday at home against Bloomsburg beginning at 12 p.m.
