No. 6 West Chester Clashes With No. 2 Kutztown Wednesday Afternoon

WEST CHESTER vs. KUTZTOWN
Game Details: 4:00 p.m. | Wednesday, Oct. 23
Location: West Chester, Pa. | Vonnie Gros Field
Game Links: Watch | Live Stats

GOLDEN RAMS CONTINUE HOMESTAND WITH NO. 2 KUTZTOWN
• West Chester (9-5) continues a three-game homestand to close out the home portion of the 2024 slate Wednesday afternoon when the defending Division II national champion Kutztown Golden Bears (10-3) visit Vonnie Gros Field.
• West Chester is coming off a dominating 4-0 victory over visiting Limestone on Monday afternoon. The Golden Rams got a hat trick from Jasmine Miller and only allowed two shots – none on goal – defensively to send the Saints home with two losses in their trip to Pennsylvania. Limestone lost at Millersville last Saturday.
• Jasmine Miller is second in the PSAC in goals scored with 15. She ranks fourth all-time at WCU in goals scored during the Division II era with 45. Miller has scored a goal in each of her last four games and has 10 goals in West Chester's last six contests.
• Adriana Palumbo currently ranks tied for second in the PSAC in assists with eight. She is coming off a 3-assist effort against Limestone. Her 15 career assists is two shy of putting in the Top 10 at WCU.
• Kutztown enters Wednesday's conference tilt on a personal two-game losing streak. The Golden Bears dropped a 3-2 decision to No. 1 Shippensburg last Tuesday and fell, 2-1, to 10th-ranked Mansfield on Saturday. KU's two goals against Shippensburg were the most that the Raiders have surrendered in a game this season.

PLAYOFF PICTURE TAKES A HIT
• With four games left in the regular season, the Golden Rams are running out of time to make their move in the league standings and climb into a playoff spot for the postseason conference tournament. Saturday's loss to IUP was a blow to West Chester's hopes for a playoff bid. However, the Golden Rams still have four conference games remaining and every opportunity that comes with that to make the playoffs. The problem is that two of those four conference opponents are two of the best teams in the PSAC and in the country.
• West Chester is currently in seventh place in the league standings and would be on the outside looking in if the season were to end today. But, they are only half-a-game out of fifth place and one game out of fourth. So, a move up the standings is certainly a possibility.
• Everything is still very much in front of them as they come down the final stretch of the schedule. West Chester is 4-4 in one-goal games and has played two of the top teams in the standings to a one-goal outcome. The Golden Rams were just on the wrong side of those two outcomes.
 
ABOUT KUTZTOWN
• Kutztown is 10-3 on the season and in third place in the PSAC. The Golden Bears are all but assured of a spot in the PSAC Tournament next month. However, their recent two-game slide has dropped them one spot in the league standings. Wednesday's tilt at West Chester is where Kutztown will look to get back on track. Erin Gonzalez is the Bears' leading scorer with nine goals on the year. They rank second in the league in scoring and fourth in goals.  
 
WEST CHESTER vs. KUTZTOWN – THE ALL-TIME SERIES
• West Chester is 16-6 all-time against Kutztown. However, the Golden Bears captured a 2-1 victory at home last season to end a personal four-game losing streak to the Golden Rams. The last time that Kutztown beat West Chester at Vonnie Gros Field was in the PSAC semifinals in 2019. That year, the Golden Rams went on to win the national championship. West Chester is 8-3 all-time at home against Kutztown.  
 
WEST CHESTER – LAST TIME OUT (vs. Limestone 10-21-24)
• Jasmine Miller registered a hat trick, and Adriana Palumbo posted three assists to lead sixth-ranked West Chester to a 4-0 shutout over visiting Limestone on a beautiful Monday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field. West Chester (9-5), in the midst of a five-game in nine-day stint of the schedule, concluded its non-league slate for 2024 with the win over Limestone (8-5). Paige Wolfe scored a goal and assisted on another to assist in the scoring as well. Miller scored all three of her goals off tips in front. Two of those came on corner opportunities.