WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's soccer team (13-2-4) is preparing for its return to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday afternoon against seventh-seeded West Virginia State, beginning at 1 p.m. on Rockwell Field.
Fan Information
For fans making the trip to Rockwell Field on Friday, tickets are required, and prices are $13 for adults and $8 for students (K-12)/seniors (+65). Tickets must be purchased on site, and sales will be cashless. Additionally, fans should park in Q Lot located across South New Street from Rockwell Field, as Lot T, directly adjacent to Rockwell Field, will not be available for general fan parking. For fans unable to make the trip to West Chester this weekend, live stats and live video are available
here.
History Lesson
West Chester returns to the NCAA Tournament after a brief one-year hiatus, a year ago, which halted a 20-year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances, tied with Grand Valley State for the longest and longest active Tournament appearance streak. The Lakers have appeared in the Tournament in each of the last two seasons and now hold the record with a 22-year streak.
West Chester will host the opening weekend of the Tournament on South Campus for the first time since 2022, a Tournament that coincidentally began with a 1-0 second-round victory over West Virginia State en route to a National Championship game appearance. West Chester last appeared in the Tournament in 2023, returning to the Regional Championship game for what was the sixth time in seven seasons and the third year in a row. West Chester fell to Gannon in PKs in this match on Rockwell Field as the Golden Knights denied West Chester in its bid for an eighth Atlantic Regional Championship and seventh under head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley. Kempf Townsley is 25-15-9 in the NCAA Tournament and has not suffered an Opening Round exit since a 2-1 loss in overtime against East Stroudsburg at West Virginia Wesleyan in 2015.
The Golden Rams senior class has been a part of some of the greatest moments in program history since their rookie seasons in 2022. In 2022, West Chester went 4-1 in the Tournament en route to the first National Championship game appearance in school history, then went 2-0-1 in 2023 to return to the Atlantic Regional final, only to be bested on PKs.
The Matchup
West Chester and West Virginia State will come together for the third time on Rockwell Field on Friday afternoon, as the two teams met for the first time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022 before meeting once more earlier this season. Last time the two sides faced off in the NCAA Tournament, Jacqueline Hug played the hero as she scored the lone and game-winning goal with under two minutes to play to carry the top-seeded Golden Rams past the Yellow Jackets into the Atlantic Regional final. Earlier this season, West Chester hosted West Virginia State on a hot, humid September afternoon on Rockwell Field to open the 2025 season. West Chester scored two early goals as
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) scored the first goal of the season in the 20
th minute before
Makayla Condela (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) added a goal of her own in the 36
th minute in a dominant 2-0 victory. West Chester outshot its guests 18-4 and finished the match with a 13-2 lead in shots on goal, along with a 10-2 lead in corners.
How They Got Here
West Chester had a tremendous season and won its first PSAC East Regular Season crown since 2022, which gave the Golden Rams hosting rights for PSAC Championship weekend for the first time since 2017. Seeking its third PSAC Tournament crown in four seasons, West Chester fell to eventual PSAC Champion and top-seed in the NCAA Tournament, Shepherd, by a 3-0 final in the semifinals on Friday afternoon, which was enough to drop West Chester into the second seed in the bracket.
West Virginia State enters play after a conference semifinal loss of its own as the Yellow Jackets fell to the Golden Eagles of the University of Charleston (W.V.) by a 1-0 final. This setback was WVSU's fourth of the season and the first since a 2-0 setback at Concord in late September, which dropped the Yellow Jackets to 4-3-0 on the season after losing to West Chester and Bloomsburg during a season-opening trip to Pennsylvania in early September. Fairmont State, who will face third-seeded Kutztown in the first matchup on Rockwell Field on Friday, won the Mountain East Conference crown with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Golden Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
Flock Talk
Kianna Barber (Browns Mills, N.J./BCIT) and Matter enter the Tournament first and second on the team in scoring with nine goals and four assists (22 points) and seven goals and five assists (19 points), respectively.
Lindsey Balmer (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and
Victoria Pungello (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) are tied for third on the team in scoring with 12 points each. Balmer has five goals and two assists, while Pungello has three goals and six assists to her credit.
In goal, Keen continues to have a tremendous junior season as she enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 13-2-4 with nine shutouts and a 0.57 goals-against average, along with 63 saves for an .863 save percentage. Keen finished the regular season as the PSAC leader in goals-against average, shutouts, and save percentage.
We Are Honored
West Chester landed eight players on the All-PSAC teams as
Faith Matter,
Kianna Barber,
Katie Dougherty,
Carley Slavin,
Grace Keen,
Lauren Reimold, and
Victoria Pungello all earned First Team honors, while
Jacqueline Graham earned a spot on the Second Team. Barber earned PSAC East Player of the Year honors, marking the fourth year in a row in which a Golden Ram has received this top award, while Dougherty copped Rookie of the Year plaudits.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester is 9-1-1 on Rockwell Field this season and has outscored opponents 22-5 at home this season, including its 2-0 victory over WVSU in the season opener.
Scouting WVSU
West Virginia State enters the NCAA Tournament following a strong year of its own. The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season 14-1-1 in league play and led the league in points per game (8.33) while allowing just 1.18 goals per game, which was third best in the Mountain East. The Yellow Jackets landed eight on the All-MEC team as Poppy Bastock, Leila Karam, Laura Pouderas, and Aika Tobaru earned First Team honors, while Sara Paris Filter, Hannah Aneley Nunez Perriera, Avril Amil Ruzi, and Nagi Higashi were named to the Second Team.
Offensively, Karam led a unit that scored 54 goals in the 2025 regular season with 11 goals and two assists for 24 points, while Paris Filter was second with eight goals and four assists for 20 points. Rachel Okoro was close behind with nine goals and one assist for 19 points. Laura Pouderas and Ece Lea Evin led the team in assists with six each in 2025.
In goal, Bastock has been exceptional as well, playing to a record of 14-4-1 with a 1.17 goals-against average and six shutouts with 61 saves and a .735 save percentage.
The Other Half
Fairmont State (16-1-3) will face PSAC runner-up Kutztown (13-5-1) in the other first-round matchup on Friday, kicking off at 10 a.m. for the right to face the winner of West Chester/WVSU in the pod final on Sunday afternoon in West Chester. Kutztown will play in the first game of a doubleheader on Rockwell for the second week in a row after dispatching Millersville by a 1-0 final in the first PSAC Semifinal on Friday afternoon. Kutztown is seeking its first Regional Championship game appearance since 2022, while the Fighting Falcons look for their first Regional Championship appearance in program history with two wins this weekend.
The Other Pod
The winner of this weekend's pod will advance to the Regional Championship game on Sunday, November 30, at the home of the highest remaining seed. Shepherd (11-1-6) grabbed the top seed in the Tournament by virtue of victories over Gannon, West Chester, and Kutztown last week. The Rams will host a match between Gannon (15-2-2) and Bloomsburg (10-6-2) on Friday afternoon, followed by hosting the winner of that match in the Second Round on Sunday afternoon.
