WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South) scored her second hat trick in three games to help lead the West Chester University women's soccer team (9-4-1, 8-4-1) to a dominant 3-0 Senior Day victory over Lock Haven (2-9-3, 2-9-1) on a beautiful Sunday afternoon on Rockwell Field.
Last Saturday, Cutter became the fifth Golden Ram in team history to record a hat trick and the first since
Scarlett Walsh in 2015. With her hat trick this afternoon, her second of the three-game homestand, Cutter became the first player under head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley to accomplish the feat and is believed to be the first player in program history. At minimum, Cutter is the first Golden Ram to score two hat tricks in the same season since 2003.
Prior to the game, West Chester honored its five-player senior class, which included
Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, PA./Penn Charter), Cutter,
Paige Reali (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic), Jordyn Dupes (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), and Lauren Corless (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge).
Also prior to the game, West Chester presented head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley with a plaque in honor of her 400
th collegiate head coaching victory earlier this fall at Mansfield.
In the 20th minute, Cutter scored the game's first goal with a flying header off a picture-perfect cross from fellow senior Corless to give the Golden Rams an early one-goal advantage.
West Chester dominated the first half, ending the opening stanza with a 13-1 lead in shots and a 6-0 lead in shots on goal while also holding a 9-1 lead in corners after the Bald Eagles registered the first corner of the match just after kickoff.
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) nearly doubled the lead in the 48th minute when
Jacqueline Graham (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) got her in alone after forcing a turnover at midfield, but the outstretched foot of Megan Miller stopped the shot to keep the deficit at 1-0.
Matter nearly scored again off a corner in the 58th minute, but Miller punched the chance away. The rebound was knocked around in the box, forcing Miller to make a pair of saves on follow-up shots by
Carley Slavin (Abington, Pa./Abington) and Matter, but she handled both chances to keep the score right where it was.
In the 72nd minute, West Chester doubled its lead when Cutter scored her second of the day following a save on a shot by
Adrianna Ryder (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert), which nearly bent into the goal but was punched wide by a leaping Miller.
Cutter picked up her second hat trick in three games in the 78th minute when she converted a pass from
Lauren Reimold (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) to make it a 3-0 lead and make her place in Golden Rams history.
West Chester continued threatening down the stretch, but the Bald Eagle defense played well enough to prevent the Golden Rams from extending its lead.
Lock Haven generated perhaps its best chance of the afternoon on a counterattack late. Still, Grace
Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) made a diving stop in front of a crashing Bald Eagle forward to keep the shutout intact and post her third consecutive clean sheet.
West Chester ended the game with a 29-3 lead in shots, a 14-2 lead in shots on goal, and an 11-3 lead in corners.
Miller played well for Lock Haven in the setback, making 11 saves in an attempt to slow the potent Golden Ram offense, while Keen made two stops of her own in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at Bloomsburg beginning at 4 p.m.
