West Chester at Bloomsburg
Game Details: November 2 I 4 P.M.
Location: Steph Petit Stadium (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 28-20-6
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Bloomsburg Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester improved to 9-4-1 overall and 8-4-1 in league play with a convincing 3-0 victory over Lock Haven last Sunday afternoon, which also improved the Golden Rams to 5-1-1 in games on Rockwell Field. After going 1-0-1 to start its three-game homestand with a 6-0 win over Mansfield and a scoreless draw vs Kutztown, West Chester rolled to a 3-0 victory over Lock Haven on Senior Day, taking the lead with a 20th-minute goal from Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South) before she tacked two more goals in the 72nd and 79th to help West Chester cruise to the shutout victory. Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) picked up yet another shutout in goal, making a pair of saves in the win.
Flock Talk
With her second hat trick in three games, Cutter extended her lead atop the WCU goal-scoring chart to six as the senior has 12 goals on the year, while Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) is second with six goals and a team-high 11 assists for 23 points. Cutter has one assist to her name, resulting in 25 points on the year, while Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) is third with five goals and two assists for 12 points.
In goal, Keen is 9-4-1 with a 0.82 goals-against average and eight shutouts on the year, including a clean sheet in her last three games and six of the previous seven.
Going Back-to-Back
Cutter repeated as PSAC East Athlete of the Week this week after scoring her second hat trick in three games with a three-goal performance against Lock Haven on Saturday. Cutter became the first player in team history to record a hat trick twice in the same season after becoming just the fifth player to do so and the first since 2015 earlier in October in a 6-0 win over Mansfield.
Cutter enters the weekend leading the PSAC in goals with 12 while also tied for first in the league in game-winning goals (four) and points (25).
Taking Shape
By other results on Wednesday evening (namely a 1-1 draw between Kutztown and Bloomsburg), West Chester now has substantial control of its PSAC Tournament destiny entering the season's final week. West Chester has a one-point lead over Kutztown for second in the PSAC East standings and, with three games to play, will need just two wins in those three contests to secure the second seed and PSAC Quarterfinal hosting rights. Should West Chester fail to reach 31 points, the Golden Rams are still likely to make the PSAC Tournament; however, the road will be more difficult as the team will be on the road for the Quarterfinals. West Chester has not been forced to start its PSAC Quarterfinal away from home since the 2021 season when the team lost on the road at Bloomsburg.
Shepherd is in firm control of the PSAC East, needing just three more points in its next three games (Lock Haven, Shippensburg, WCU) to win the PSAC East Regular Season crown. The PSAC Championship weekend will be played in the West, and it is a real possibility that it comes down to the final game of the year between Gannon and Indiana (Pa.). Gannon holds a 27-24 lead over IUP, although both teams have three games to play, including a rematch against each other on November 9. When the two teams squared off a month ago on October 9, IUP earned a scoreless draw at the home of the Golden Knights.
Keeping the Streak
West Chester appeared in the first NCAA Atlantic Regional rankings of the year, released on Wednesday afternoon. The Golden Rams are looking to keep their Division II record 20-year NCAA Tournament appearance streak alive for a 21st year.
Series History
West Chester enters play with a 28-20-6 lead in the all-time series against Bloomsburg and has won each of the last five meetings between the two foes. The Golden Rams' last loss to Bloomsburg came in the PSAC Tournament in November 2021, and the team has not lost to the Huskies on the road in regular-season play since October 2019.
Scouting Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg enters play on Saturday looking to break out of a streak that has seen the Huskies win just once in their last five games (a 1-0 win over Mansfield on 10/23). The Huskies have drawn against East Stroudsburg, Millersville, and Kutztown, and a loss against Shepherd makes up the balance.
On Wednesday night at Kutztown, Bloomsburg found itself down a goal early when Corrine Morgan scored off an assist from Caroline McDonald just 16 minutes into the match, but Aubrey Hondros found the equalizer just three minutes later to tie the game at 1-1. Kutztown outshot Bloomsburg 13-2 in the first half and 10-2 in the second half, but Samantha Merklin was exceptional in goal, making nine saves, including five in the second half, to earn a crucial 1-1 draw against the Golden Bears.
Brooke Foster leads Bloomsburg in scoring this year with five goals and two assists for 12 points, while Hondros is second on the team in scoring with two goals and two assists for six points. Kennedy Kilchrist is a close third with two goals and an assist for five points on the campaign. Merklin has been excellent in goal, playing to a record of 8-4-3 with a 0.67 goals-against average and seven shutouts on the year.
