WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following a dominant quarterfinal victory over Clarion on a frigid Tuesday afternoon, the 15th-ranked West Chester University women's soccer team (13-1-4) is set to return to action on Friday afternoon against Shepherd (9-1-6), beginning at 1 p.m. on Rockwell Field. West Chester and Shepherd will meet in the second game of the day on Friday, with Kutztown and Millersville doing battle on Rockwell first at 10 a.m. to determine who the winner of the clash between the two teams that have won each of the last three PSAC Tournament titles will face on Championship Sunday.
West Chester vs Shepherd
Match Details: November 14 I 1 P.M.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 9-1-3
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Fan Information
Fans are advised that they will be required to park across the street from Rockwell Field in Lot Q (parking lot adjacent to Farrell Stadium/directly across South New Street from Rockwell Field) for all postseason events once again in 2025. Additionally, tickets are required for all PSAC Tournament games. All sales are cashless and are sold online via this
link. Ticket prices are set at $12 for adults and $7 for students K-12, with students from PSAC Member Institutions with current, valid ID being admitted free of charge. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online for the quickest access to Rockwell Field on gameday. The PSAC has launched a Championship Central, which is available
here.
Last Time Out
Hosting fifth-seeded Clarion, the West Chester University women's soccer team got out to an early lead on Tuesday, as the trio of
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), Kianna Barber (Browns Mills, N.J/BCIT), and Jenna Fox (Magnolia, Del./Polytech) all scored first half goals to give West Chester a 3-0 lead at the midway point.
Kate Alexander (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) added a pair of goals midway through the second half to help West Chester finish off a dominant 5-1 victory over the Golden Eagles.
Flock Talk
With her goal and assist yesterday, Barber extended her team lead atop the scoring chart as she now has 22 points with nine goals and four helpers. Matter, who scored the first goal of the game yesterday afternoon, is a close second with seven goals and five assists for 19 points, followed by
Lindsey Balmer (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and
Victoria Pungello (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial), who are tied for third with 12 points each. Balmer has five goals and two assists on the year, while Pungello has three goals and a team-best six assists.
In goal,
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) continues to be a steady presence as she is 13-1-4 with a 0.42 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage with 62 saves and nine shutouts. Keen has also been a part of three other shutout efforts, joining forces with
Samantha Hollish and
Domenica Rasi in those games.
We Are Honored
West Chester dominated the PSAC awards on Tuesday afternoon as the trio of
Kianna Barber (Player of the Year),
Katie Dougherty (Rookie of the Year), and
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley (Coach of the Year) all earned major awards, while Barber, Dougherty,
Carley Slavin,
Grace Keen,
Victoria Pungello,
Faith Matter, and
Lauren Reimold earned First Team honors with
Jacqueline Graham landing Second Team honors.
It's a Habit
With Barber's Player of the Year honor on Tuesday, West Chester has now had the PSAC East Player of the Year each of the last four seasons, with
Kaitlynn Haughey honored in 2022, followed by
Faith Matter in 2023 and 2024. West Chester has also had the Rookie of the Year three times in the last five seasons, as Haughey was Rookie of the Year in 2021, Matter was Rookie of the Year in 2022, and Dougherty earned top rookie honors in 2025.
Rank and File
West Chester held steady at No. 15 in the latest United Soccer Coaches' Poll and also remained first in the latest and final set of NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings released by the Division II women's soccer committee on Wednesday afternoon.
Series History
West Chester is 9-1-3 all-time against Shepherd after splitting the season series a year ago and playing to a pair of draws earlier this season. Since 2023, West Chester is just 2-1-2 against the Rams, including a 1-0 loss in West Chester last November to conclude the regular season.
PSAC Championship Weekend History
Under head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley, who was named PSAC East Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career on Tuesday, West Chester is 11-5-3 on PSAC Championship weekend and has not lost since a 2019 setback against Edinboro. West Chester has missed the PSAC Championship game after advancing to the weekend only three times under Kempf Townsley, with those occasions being 2014, 2016, and 2019. The team has advanced to the regional final twice in these three occasions, winning the Region in 2014 and falling in 2019 while falling in the Regional Semifinals in 2016.
Scouting Shepherd
Shepherd (9-1-6) enters the PSAC Semifinals for the second year in a row riding a three-game winning streak as the Rams look to repeat as PSAC Tournament Champions. Shepherd advanced to Championship Weekend with a 2-0 victory over No. 9 Gannon on Tuesday night thanks to a late first-half goal by Reagan Ackerman and another late goal by Josie Beezel, which sealed the road victory. Hannah Wilt was exceptional in goal for Shepherd, making six saves as Gannon ended the match with a 16-3 lead in shots and a 7-2 lead in shots on goal, along with a 9-2 lead in corners. Shepherd was shown three yellow cards in the match as the Rams were whistled for 13 fouls in the Quarterfinal victory.
Merritt Delk and Anaya Lozano continue to lead the Rams in scoring with 23 points each. Delk has eight goals and seven assists, while Lozano has 11 goals and one assist. Beezel is third in scoring with six goals and a team-best nine assists for 21 points, followed by Ackerman with seven goals and five assists for 19 points. In goal, Wilt is 8-1-6 with a 0.74 goals-against average and a .725 save percentage (29 saves) with six shutouts.
The Other Half
The winner on Friday's semifinal will face off against the winner of a semifinal between Kutztown and Millersville, which will be played on Friday morning on Rockwell Field at 10 a.m.
With a Win
With a win on Friday afternoon, West Chester will play for a PSAC Title for the third time in four seasons after winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. Head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley is in search of her sixth PSAC Tournament crown at the helm of the Golden Rams.
