West Chester vs East Stroudsburg
Game Details: October 12 I 12 P.M.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 33-14-6
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
ESU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester took to the road on Wednesday afternoon for an important test at No. 17 Shepherd as the Golden Rams looked to hand the unbeaten Rams their first loss of the season. Victoria Pungello (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) scored her second goal in three games and stretched her points streak to three in a row with a strike in the 56th minute that gave the Purple and Gold a 1-0 lead midway through the second half. Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) was excellent in goal as well, earning her second shutout in as many games with four saves to keep the Shepherd offense, which had entered the day as one of the top units in the PSAC, led by Lydia Gable, who ranks in the top five in DII soccer in scoring, off the scoreboard.
Flock Talk
Thanks to her two goals last Saturday vs Bloomsburg, Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) leads West Chester in points with 14 (3 Goals, 8 Assists) on the year, while Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South) is a close second with 13 points thanks to a team-leading six goals on the season. Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) and Pungello are third and fourth on the team in scoring with 10 (4 G 2 A) and six points (2 G 2 A), respectively.
In goal, Keen is now 6-3-0 on the year with a 1.02 goals-against average and four shutouts, including three in the last five games.
We Are Honored
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) earned her first PSAC East Athlete of the Week citation of the year this week after scoring a pair of goals in the win over Bloomsburg and adding an assist on a Pungello goal in a 3-1 setback at Kutztown to begin the month of October.
Heating Up
After suffering a two-game losing streak in mid-September, West Chester has now won four of its last five, including a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten and no. 17 ranked Shepherd on the road on Wednesday afternoon. West Chester has surrendered just one goal over the course of its four wins, outscoring opponents 13-1 in the four victories and 14-4 in the last five matches.
You Look Familiar
In order to avenge a loss from earlier this season, head coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley will have to defeat a former player from her days at the helm of Seton Hall in ESU head coach Meagan DeWan. DeWan is a 2007 graduate of Seton Hall and was a four-year member of the Pirates, who earned Big East honors and led the Pirates in assists and points as a junior in one of Kempf Townsley’s final years at the helm of the Pirates. Kempf Townsley, who recorded her 400th collegiate victory earlier this year vs Mansfield, finished her career at Seton Hall with 103 wins in 13 seasons, with 26 of those wins coming with DeWan on her roster.
The Rivalry
West Chester holds a 33-14-6 lead in the all-time series vs. ESU after falling to the Warriors to open the season series earlier this year. At ESU in September, West Chester surrendered a goal midway through the first half, and Emmy Clarkson's strong work in goal made this hold up for a 1-0 victory for the Warriors. West Chester looks to split the regular season series for the second year in a row after falling to ESU by a 3-0 final on the road a year ago and posting a 1-0 win on Rockwell before advancing past the same Warriors squad in the PSAC Quarterfinals in November.
Scouting ESU
East Stroudsburg enters the weekend with a record of 5-2-3 overall and 3-2-3 in league play following a 5-0 win over Mansfield on Wednesday night, which extended the Warriors unbeaten streak to three in a row. Against Mansfield, Rebecca Kotula opened the scoring just two minutes into the match, and the Warriors added two more goals before halftime from Abby James and Maddie Lamb to carry a 3-0 lead into the halftime break. In the second half, Sophia Lowery scored a pair of goals in a seven-minute span, which stretched the lead to 5-0 in a dominant victory for DeWan’s Warriors.
West Chester fell to ESU on the road earlier this season, but the Warriors seem to be a more beatable opponent away from home. They are just 2-1-2 on the road while playing to a mark of 3-1-1 on the familiar Eiler-Martin Stadium pitch.
Kotula is the Warriors' leading scorer with four goals and eight points in the year, while James is a close second with two goals and three assists for seven points in the campaign. Clarkson, who posted a shutout victory over West Cheser earlier this season, is 5-2-3 on the year with six shutouts and a 0.71 goals-against average.
