West Chester and IUP Close Out Regular Season Friday Afternoon at Vonnie Gros

WEST CHESTER vs INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Game Details: November 1 I 4 P.M.
Location: Vonnie Gross Field at West Chester
Series All Time: WCU, 19-3
Video Stream Link: HERE
Live Stats:HERE

WEST CHESTER, PA – West Chester University's women's field hockey will host IUP in the 2025 regular season finale.
The Golden Rams (12-4, 7-2 PSAC) look to extend their hot streak as they close out the regular season. They have won the last four games and the last five of six. The Crimson Hawks (8-6, 4-4) have won the last three games and the last four of five. An exciting match-up leading into postseason play as both teams have clinched a berth in the PSAC Tournament next week.

LAST TIME OUT
Caitlynn Szarko (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) notched the only goal of the game to lift fifth-ranked West Chester to a 1-0 victory over host Millersville in a non-conference tilt at Biemesderfer Stadium Wednesday evening
 
West Chester (12-4) kept pace in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and remains in a tie for second place with its win over Millersville (7-10).
 
Goalkeeper Audra Szymborksi (Furlong, Pa./Central Bucks East) made six saves to pick up the win in the cage and extend her consecutive scoreless minutes streak to 188 minutes.
West Chester outshot Millersville, 14-8, and held an 11-6 edge in penalty corners. It was West Chester's third consecutive shutout.
 
VEERLE'S WEEKLY AWARD
West Chester University sophomore midfielder, Veerle Hersman was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) athlete of the week it was announced by that organization Tuesday afternoon. She was also named the Division II national athlete of the week it was announced by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Wednesday morning.
 
Hersman scored all three goals that West Chester scored in its two wins last week. She scored twice in a 2-0 win over No. 5 Bloomsburg that was a pivotal game with both PSAC and NCAA Tournament implications. She then scored the only goal of the game on a penalty stroke at Slippery Rock in a 1-0 win last Saturday. She picked up a pair of game-winning goals on the week, giving her five for the season.  

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN RAMS
The Golden Rams are 8-3 in their last 11 games and have one contest left in the regular season. West Chester has allowed just 20 shots on goal in its last four games – all wins – as the purple & gold are playing some of its best field hockey down the stretch. The old adage says, "Defenses win championships" and head coach Amy Cohen is putting that cliché to the test.
 
Offensively, Veerle Hersman leads the team and ranks among the leaders in all of Division II in goals scored with 15. She also leads the team in scoring with 33 points. Erin O'Donnell and Caitlynn Szarko each have six goals on the year while Nina Scott has five goals on the season.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON HAWKS
The IUP Crimson Hawks field hockey team earned a 3-0 road victory over Slippery Rock on Tuesday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
Senior attack Jess Davidson leads the Crimson Hawks this season with nine goals and 29 total points. Hayven Mumma follows her up with six goals scored and eleven points while Lily Fringer adds four goals and 10 points. Three additional players have three goals scored.
 
In goal, junior Celeste Pagliaroli has started all 14 games. She has allowed only 16 goals this season keeping her save percentage at 0.709.
 
THE WEST CHESTER-IUP SERIES
West Chester holds the all-time series at 19-3. The schools split their two encounters a year ago with each winning at home. IUP has won two of the last three meetings with West Chester. The last meeting was a double overtime loss for the Golden Rams.
 
THE PSAC TOURNAMENT FIELD
The field for the 2025 PSAC Tournament will be set on Saturday night following the Shippensburg-Kutztown season finale. Based on win-loss record in mandated conference play, the top six teams shall qualify for the PSAC Tournament. The top two seeds receive a first-round bye and a trip to the conference semifinals. The rest of the field will play a quarterfinal-round game on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Those games feature No. 3 hosting No. 6, and No. 4 hosting No. 5. The winners advance to the semifinals and join the top two seeds.
 
Kutztown (17-0, 8-0) has secured the No. 1 spot in dominant fashion. Depending on Saturday's results, only East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg and West Chester can be the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds for the Tournament. The No. 2 seed will advance to Friday's semifinals at Kutztown and will play in the second semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The No. 3 and 4 seeds will host a first-round contest on Tuesday. During the regular season, East Stroudsburg defeated Shippensburg, Shippensburg defeated West Chester and West Chester defeated East Stroudsburg.
 
The PSAC Tournament is a cashless event at all venues. Prices of tickets will be decided at a later date. All sales will be final. No refunds.
 
Spectators have a variety of purchase options. They are encouraged to purchase tickets prior to arriving but they can purchase onsite as well, using either a QR code available at the entrance to the bleachers to take them to the website for purchase, or a Stripe POS device to take payment on site.

THE ATLANTIC REGIONAL RANKINGS
The second week of the NCAA regional rankings were released Wednesday afternoon. West Chester University was listed fifth in this week's regional rankings.

The Division II Field Hockey Championship provides for an eight-team, single-elimination tournament. The Division II Field Hockey Committee will select the five teams in the Atlantic region and three teams in the East region and seed them one through eight, regardless of region. First-round games will be Saturday, Nov. 15, semifinals will be Friday, Nov. 21 and the championship final will be Sunday, Nov. 23.
 
UP NEXT
The Golden Rams are postseason bound after this Saturday's game. Their spot in the PSAC Tournament is locked in, but their seed will be decided on Saturday.