WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) scored two goals to help lead the West Chester University women's soccer team (5-3-0, 4-3-0) to an impressive 3-0 victory over Bloomsburg (6-3-0, 4-3-0) on Saturday afternoon on Rockwell Field.
West Chester opened the scoring early and added a pair of insurance goals in the second half in a complete victory over Bloomsburg on Saturday, handing the visiting Huskies their first loss in over two weeks.
Midway through the first half, West Chester took a one-goal lead as
Carley Slavin (Abington, Pa./Abington) scored off a
Victoria Pungello (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) corner to give West Chester the early 1-0 advantage.
The Golden Rams continued to threaten as the first half continued getting a pair of great chances by
Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South) and
Olivia Conroy (Toms River, N.J./Donovan Catholic) but Samantha Merklin was equal to the task, making a pair of leaping saves to push the ball over the crossbar and keep the deficit at one.
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) had an active first half of her own, making five saves, including one off an early corner less than five minutes into the match to help West Chester carry its one-goal advantage into the halftime break.
West Chester ended the first half with a 9-7 lead in shots and a 4-3 lead in corners, although shots on goal were even at 5-5.
West Chester continued to pester the Bloomsburg defense in the early stages of the second half, taking three shots against the Husky backline, including one goal off the foot of Haughey but Merklin was able to save it easily enough, keeping the deficit at one.
Kate Alexander (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) started a counterattack for West Chester with a beautifully placed through ball to the feet of
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) who was able to get around her defender and a 1-on-1 chance vs the keeper. At perhaps the last moment, Matter was fouled in the box and earned a PK, which she buried with ease to give the Golden Rams a 2-0 lead with 34 minutes to play.
The Golden Ram defense stiffened from this point, preventing Bloomsburg from accumulating good chances offensively, while continuing to pressure the Husky defense. West Chester won a corner with just under 11 minutes to play and got three shots off of it but a chance by
Jordyn Dupes (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) was blocked and Merklin made two more saves off shots by Haughey and
Kianna Barber (Browns, N.J./Burlington County Institute of Technology) to keep the score at 2-0.
Matter scored her second of the day in the 82
nd minute off a loose ball in the box, stretching the lead to 3-0 in the waning moments of the match.
West Chester ended the match with a 22-11 lead in shots and a 12-7 lead in shots on goal, while also finishing with a 7-3 lead on corners.
Keen was excellent in goal, making seven saves, while her counterpart, Merklin, made nine of her own in an effort to slow the Golden Ram offense.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon in West Virginia vs Shepherd before hosting East Stroudsburg next Saturday afternoon on Rockwell Field.
