KUTZTOWN, Pa.- Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) scored the eventual game-winner just over 16 minutes into the match, and the Golden Rams made this early lead hold up as the third-seeded West Chester University women's soccer team (15-3-3) earned a narrow 1-0 victory over sixth-seed Frostburg State (17-3-2) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm very happy to advance," head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley opened. "I didn't think today was one of our best games, but kudos to Frostburg for a great game plan and even bigger kudos to this group for sticking through, persevering, and earning a hard-fought victory."
With this victory, West Chester advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh year in a row dating back to the 2016 season. West Chester will continue its Atlantic Region Title defense on Sunday afternoon against the winner of Kutztown/Concord beginning at 2 p.m. on Keystone Field.
West Chester appeared as if it might open the game the same way they won their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) semifinal, rushing down the field immediately off the tap, which nearly caught the Bobcats napping, but the chance by
Jacqueline Hug (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) went just wide to keep things scoreless early.
This first chance, which came just nine seconds into the contest, was a sign of things to come for the Golden Rams as they applied heavy pressure through the first 15 minutes of play, winning 15 throw-ins, including 11 in the attacking third but the Bobcats were able to hold them off at least temporarily.
This sustained pressure paid off in the 17
th minute as
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown Area0 forced a turnover on the Golden Rams side of midfield and did not miss the chance, scoring a beautiful goal past a charging Frostburg State keeper to give third-seed West Chester an early 1-0 lead.
"It was frantic in the back at that point," opened Matter when asked about her game-winner. "I was definitely kind of rushed with the shot but saw the opportunity and got good contact on it, so then it was just hoping it would find its way in."
West Chester continued to test the Frostburg State defense as the half progressed, heading to the locker room with a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal after another late scoring chance by Cutter just before the halftime break.
"We talked about wanting to put pressure on them early coming in," said Kempf Townsley. "I thought we probably could have had another goal or two in the first 20 minutes, but credit to Frostburg, playing well to limit those chances and fighting back into the game down the stretch."
After the Golden Rams goal, Frostburg State ratcheted up its offensive pressure as well, getting four more shots off, three of which found their way on goal in an attempt to even things up at 1-1 before the halftime break.
The Bobcats' most dangerous chance of the opening half came just before the 30
th minute when
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) had to make a leaping save to keep the ball from bending inside the far post. The Bobcats earned a corner off this save, but the West Chester defense tightened at the right time, clearing the ball out of danger to keep the lead intact.
Frostburg State appeared as if it may have found the equalizer early in the second half, but to the relief of the Golden Ram faithful, the offside flag flew high in the air on the sideline, nullifying the chance.
Matter appeared as if she might get her second goal of the game on an impressive counterattack, which saw her make her way around a host of Bobcat defenders, but the Frostburg State defense recovered just in time to keep the deficit at 1-0 as the game neared its 60
th minute.
In the final 20 minutes of play, Frostburg State out-possessed West Chester, outshooting the Golden Rams 6-1 down the stretch, but the Golden Rams, led by a six-save effort from Keen, held off the Bobcats for a 1-0 victory to open the NCAA Tournament.
"Grace was tremendous today," acknowledged Kempf Townsley. "She had some great saves, especially in the first half. It's been fun to watch her continue to improve and grow each game as the season has progressed.
West Chester and Frostburg State ended the game tied in shots (12-12) and shots on goal (6-6), while the Golden Rams ended the game with a slim 7-4 lead in corner kicks.
Keen completed her first NCAA Tournament game with a shutout, posting six big saves, while Ashley Bilger made five clutch saves to keep her side in the game down the stretch on Friday afternoon.
When asked about her effort in the victory, Keen said, "It was a really exciting game. I expected to see a lot of action coming in, and I thought the whole backline did a great job to help keep the shutout intact. It was certainly frantic down the stretch for us, but I think as a group, the defense did a nice job of staying organized and getting the ball out."
UP NEXT:
West Chester returns to action on Sunday afternoon against the winner of Kutztown/Concord beginning at 12 p.m. on Keystone Field.
