No. 6 West Chester and No. 9 Mansfield Clash on Homecoming Night

WEST CHESTER vs. MANSFIELD
Game Details: 6:00 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 26
Location: West Chester, Pa. | Vonnie Gros Field
Game Links: Watch | Live Stats

GOLDEN RAMS CLOSE OUT HOME SLATE ON HOMECOMING VS MANSFIELD
• Sixth-ranked West Chester (10-5, 3-3) returns to the friendly confines of Vonnie Gros Field Saturday night for the final home game of 2024 when the Golden Rams welcome No. 9 Mansfield (10-5, 4-2) to town on Homecoming night.
• West Chester is coming off an overtime upset of No. 2 Kutztown on Wednesday. It marked the Golden Rams' second win in three days. WCU will now go for a third straight win in six days against the Mountaineers.
• Mansfield is playing the final game of a three-game road swing, and the Mountaineers have won both of the first two on this trip. In fact, Mansfield brings a three-game winning streak into Saturday's event.
• Both Mansfield and West Chester have an awful lot riding on Saturday's outcome. Not only are both well in the mix for the PSAC Tournament in a couple of weeks. But, both are also searching for a NCAA Tournament bid as well. Tonight's outcome could very well make, or break, postseason aspirations for the school that comes out on the wrong side of the score.
 • West Chester will recognize members of the 1974 field hockey team, who are celebrating their 50th reunion on this Homecoming Weekend. The Golden Rams went 8-1-1 under legendary Hall of Fame head coach Vonnie Gros.

PLAYOFF PICTURE MORE IN FOCUS
• With one week left in the regular season, the postseason picture is much clearer. Yet, there is still a lot left to be determined. Both West Chester and Mansfield are very much alive for a playoff spot. As of Saturday night, both are in a playoff spot. Mansfield sits in third place in the PSAC standings right now while West Chester sits in sixth place. Shippensburg has solidified the No. 1 seed by virtue of clinching the regular-season title. Mansfield is one-half game back of East Stroudsburg for the No. 2 seed in the tournament. However, the Warriors defeated the Mountaineers and would hold any tie-breaker between the two.
• West Chester which currently sits in sixth place, could slide into a three-way tie for fourth with a win Saturday. That would leave Kutztown half a game ahead of the trio Mansfield, Bloomsburg and West Chester in third place – and remember that both Mansfield and West Chester have beaten Kutztown this year.
• West Chester has East Stroudsburg on the road and Frostburg State on the road to close out the regular season next week.  
• The top six teams in the final regular-season standings qualify for the PSAC Tournament. The top two schools receive an automatic bye to the conference semifinals. Nos. 3 and 6 seeds play a quarterfinal round match while Nos. 4 and 5 play the other quarterfinal round match to determine who joins the top two teams in the semifinals.
 
FIRST WEEK OF RANKINGS IN THE NCAA REVEALED
• The first week of the NCAA Division II regional rankings were revealed on Wednesday, and West Chester was one of five teams to appear in the rankings. This week's rankings were purely alphabetical. The next two rankings will be listed one through five.
• The NCAA Division II Field Hockey Tournament is formatted as follows:

• Eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships. Per the NCAA Pre-Championships manual, five teams from the Atlantic Region and three teams from the East Region will be selected to the 2024 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships following the completion of the regular season and respective conference championships.
• For the first time, conference champions (PSAC, NE-10, SAC) will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
• Upon selection, the eight qualifying teams will be re-seeded No. 1 through No. 8 without consideration for region.
• The Atlantic Region, which is comprised of all 10 field hockey teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and all nine teams in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) as well independent Maryville – a total of 20 teams.
• The East Region is comprised of all 14 field hockey teams that compete in the Northeast-10 Conference as well as independents D'Youville and Roberts Wesleyan.
• The NCAA Division II Field Hockey selection show will air online at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11 at NCAA.com.
• The first round of the NCAA Tournament will feature four quarterfinals hosted at school sites – those games will take place Saturday, Nov. 16.
• Limestone University in South Carolina is the host of the NCAA Semifinals (2 and 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22) and the NCAA Championship Game (1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24).

 
WEST CHESTER vs. MANSFIELD – THE ALL-TIME SERIES
• West Chester remained unbeaten against Mansfield at 16-0 when the Golden Rams took a 1-0 double-overtime victory against the Mountaineers up in Northeast PA earlier this season. The Golden Rams have never lost to the Mountaineers, but that contest was certainly as close as Mansfield has come to breaking through to get that first win.
 
WEST CHESTER vs. MANSFIELD (SEP. 25, 2024)
• Adriana Palumbo knocked in a rebound 1:18 into the second overtime lifting West Chester to a 1-0 over Mansfield at soggy and wet Karl van Norman Field. The Golden Rams forced a penalty corner early in the second OT, and Ella Shockley blasted a slapshot from the left wing that was saved by Mansfield goalkeeper August Lewis. However, the Mounties could not clear the rebound, and Palumbo spun around and poked the loose ball by Lewis.