SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) scored two goals and added an assist to lead the 13
th-ranked West Chester University women's soccer team (1-0-1, 1-0-0) to a convincing 4-0 victory over Shippensburg (0-2-0, 0-1-0) to open PSAC East play on Wednesday night.
West Chester scored 30 seconds into the match and duplicated this effort to begin the second half, as the Golden Rams were in control throughout the evening.
West Chester ended the game with a convincing 18-5 lead in shots, a 9-3 lead in shots on goal, and a 4-1 advantage in corners in the East-opening victory.
Matter put West Chester ahead just under 30 seconds into the match thanks to an assist across the box from
Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South).
In the 31
st minute, Matter added an assist on a goal by
Kiley Kergides (Rydal, Pa./Germantown Academy), which stretched the lead to 2-0 in favor of the Golden Rams heading into the halftime break.
At the half, West Chester and Shippensburg were tied in corners with one each, although the Golden Rams held a gaping 9-2 lead in shots, controlling play throughout much of the opening half of play.
West Chester started the second half the same way it started the first, scoring just over 30 seconds into the frame when
Jacqueline Hug (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) found space for her first goal of the 2023 season, which gave the Golden Rams a 3-0 lead.
Matter picked up her second goal and fifth point of the night in the 61
st minute, sending a strike into the top-left corner of the net off an assist from
Julia Raybold (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) to extend the lead to 4-0.
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) picked up her first collegiate win and shutout with a strong three-save effort while her counterpart, Shippensburg keeper Morgan Molyneaux, made five saves of her own in an attempt to slow the West Chester offense.
Up Next:
West Chester will have little time to revel in tonight's triumph as an always-dangerous East Stroudsburg squad visits Rockwell Field on Saturday afternoon beginning at 12 p.m.
