West Chester at Frostburg State
Game Details: November 1 I 4 P.M.
Location: Bobcat Stadium (Frostburg, Md.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Watch
Series: 3-0
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
FSU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester traveled to East Stroudsburg on Tuesday afternoon in search of a signature win, which would not only bolster its NCAA Tournament aspirations but also put the Golden Rams in excellent position to host a PSAC Tournament game on Vonnie Gros Field on Monday afternoon. East Stroudsburg struck first as Bella Viruet scored early in the second quarter off a rebound in front, and the Warriors made this tally stand up, holding West Chester to just two shots and one shot on goal in the 1-0 setback. Ryan Curley (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) was again excellent for West Chester, making four saves to keep the potent Warrior offense in check.
Flock Talk
Jasmine Miller (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) is in the midst of another excellent season in 2024, leading the team in scoring once again with 16 goals and one assist for 33 points on the year. Adriana Palumbo (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford), Paige Wolfe (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East), and Ella Shockley (Delmar, Del./Delmar) are tied for second on the team in goals with four each, while ranking second, third, and fourth in points with 16 (4 G 8 A), 14 (4 G 6 A), and 12 (4 G 4 A), respectively.
In goal, Curley has provided excellent stability to the Golden Ram defense, holding opponents to an average of just 0.87 goals per game while recording five shutouts with 54 saves, posting an overall record of 11-6-0 on the year.
The Playoff Picture
After falling to East Stroudsburg by a 1-0 final for the second time this season on Tuesday afternoon, the West Chester University field hockey team finds itself in a must-win game tonight to ensure its return to the PSAC Tournament in 2024. Five of six PSAC Tournament spots have been secured, and Shippensburg has clinched the top seed, while Bloomsburg has secured the fourth seed. Outside of this, much remains to be determined as East Stroudsburg will look for a win over IUP tonight to secure the second seed and lock Kutztown into the third seed. Should ESU fall to IUP, the Warriors will drop to the third seed, and Kutztown will be the no. 2 and earn the bye that accompanies that into the PSAC Semifinals. For West Chester, the Golden Rams will spend their PSAC Tournament away from Vonnie Gros Field as the team will enter the PSAC Tournament as either a five or six-seed, depending on its result tonight. With a victory, West Chester will earn the fifth seed and will travel to Bloomsburg for a rematch against the Huskies, while a loss will force the Golden Rams to scoreboard-watch and root for an East Stroudsburg win over IUP to avoid potentially missing the PSAC Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament picture is not much clearer entering the final day of the regular season as West Chester is one of 20 teams in the Atlantic Region vying for a spot in the NCAA Tournament when that begins later in November. On Wednesday afternoon, West Chester received positive news for its NCAA Tournament aspirations, being ranked third in the most recent NCAA Division II Field Hockey Regional Rankings. This ranking, which was the second of three to be released by the Division II Field Hockey Committee, did not account for the Golden Ram's setback at ESU. However, West Chester would appear to be in a position to return to the Tournament if those rankings held through selection Monday on November 11. This fall, eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships. Five teams from the Atlantic Region and three teams from the East Region will be selected for 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.
Series History
West Chester holds a 3-0 lead in the all-time series vs Frostburg State and has outscored the Bobcats 20-1 in such meetings, including a 14-0 win on Vonnie Gros Field in the first meeting in October 2021. The two most recent meetings in 2022 and 2023 have been much closer affairs (at least as compared to a 14-0 victory to open the series), with West Chester emerging victorious by a 3-0 final in 2022 in Maryland and a 3-1 final at home a year ago.
When the two teams met in early October 2023, West Chester took an early lead as Jasmine Miller scored just 56 seconds into the match before assisting on another goal by Adriana Palumbo late in the first quarter, making it a two-goal lead. Frostburg State cut the lead in half before the end of the first quarter, scoring just 30 seconds after West Chester, but Cameron Smith added a goal of her own 30 seconds before halftime to give the Golden Rams a comfortable 3-1 lead. West Chester outshot its guests 12-1 in the second half but the Bobcats made six second-half saves and took only one shot against West Chester as the game ended in a 3-1 Golden Ram victory.
Scouting Frostburg State
Frostburg State enters play on Friday night with a record of 6-10 overall and 2-6 in league play, coming off a 4-1 loss at Shippensburg on Tuesday afternoon. The Bobcats have won two of their last three and came close to toppling East Stroudsburg, taking the then-third-ranked Warriors to overtime before falling by a 2-1 final at home on October 19.
At Shippensburg on Tuesday, the Raiders were kept off the scoreboard through the first 38 minutes before the top-ranked visitors scored four unanswered in 12 minutes to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Frostburg State answered with a late goal of its own, scoring in the 53rd minute to make it a 4-1 final. Shippensburg ended the game with a 33-10 lead in shots and a 23-5 lead in shots on goal. In the setback, Zoe Barnes was excellent for Frostburg State, registering 19 saves to slow the Raider offense.
Offensively, Paige Leitzel and Emma Price are first and second on the team in points with 22 and 13, as Leitzel leads the team in goals with nine to go along with four assists, while Price is second with six goals and one assist. In goal, Barnes is 5-9-0 with a 2.80 goals-against average and one shutout.
Up Next
Should West Chester clinch a PSAC Tournament spot tonight, the Golden Rams will be back in action on Monday in the PSAC Quarterfinals at home of either the third or fourth seed. Additional information on that matchup will be made available later in the weekend.
