WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following its eighth Atlantic Regional Championship last weekend with a 1-0 win over Shepherd, the West Chester University women's soccer team (16-2-4) returns home this week to prepare for a National Quarterfinal clash with Franklin Pierce (15-2-5) on Saturday afternoon on Rockwell Field.
Saturday's Quarterfinal is a rematch of the 2022 National Quarterfinal, which sent West Chester to the National Semifinals for the first time since 2006, when West Chester also defeated Franklin Pierce to make its first Semifinal appearance. Additionally, West Chester and Franklin Pierce have had some involvement in the National Quarterfinals each of the last four seasons as West Chester defeated Franklin Pierce in 2022, Franklin Pierce defeated Shepherd in 2024, and West Chester hosted a neutral-site game between Adelphi (Adelphi advanced) and Gannon in the National Quarterfinals in 2023 after falling to the Golden Knights in the Atlantic Region Championship game earlier that weekend.
West Chester vs Franklin Pierce
Game Details: December 6 I 1 P.M.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 2-2
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Fan Information
Ticket prices are once again set at $13 for adults and $8 for students(K-12) and seniors (65+). Ticket sales will be on-site only and cashless. Fans will be required to park in Lot Q, directly across South New Street from Rockwell Field, with Lot T, adjacent to Rockwell Field, reserved for game administration, VIP, and handicapped parking.
How We Got Here
West Chester returns to the National Quarterfinals for the eighth time in program history, seventh time under head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley, and the second time in four seasons after a thrilling 1-0 win over Shepherd in West Virginia last weekend. This victory gave West Chester its eighth Atlantic Regional Championship overall, seventh under head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley, and second in four years in its third Regional Championship game appearance in four seasons.
Kianna Barber (Browns Mills, N.J./BCIT) was the hero as she finished a mishandled cross from
Kate Alexander (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) in the final minutes of the match to give West Chester a decisive 1-0 lead.
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) was at her best in goal, making five saves, including two sensational stops in the final four minutes to help the Golden Rams stun top-seeded Shepherd in Shepherdstown.
Flock Talk
Barber continues to lead the Golden Rams in scoring with 13 goals and five assists for 31 points on the season, which is now tied with
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown Area) and Kathy Bruno for 12
th in single-season team history. She is just two points shy of matching Brittany Yetter for 10
th in single-season history, as Yetter scored 10 goals and assisted on 13 more in 2006. Matter is second on the team in scoring and first in assists with seven goals and 10 assists for 24 points, while
Victoria Pungello (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) is third in scoring with six goals and seven assists for 19 points.
Lindsey Balmer (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), who scored the game-winner in the Regional Semifinal win over Fairmont State, and Alexander are fourth and fifth in scoring with six goals and two assists and four goals and two assists for 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Keen is now 16-2-4 in goal with a 0.59 goals-against average and 11 shutouts, including back-to-back shutouts in the NCAA Tournament to help West Chester capture its eighth Atlantic Regional Championship and seventh under head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley.
Familiar Territory
West Chester and Franklin Pierce will meet for the fifth time in program history on Saturday afternoon, with all five meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament. The last time West Chester and Franklin Pierce saw one another was the 2022 National Quarterfinals at the College of St. Rose in Albany. West Chester prevailed by a 2-1 final after an overtime goal by
Alyson Cutter helped West Chester complete its comeback after falling behind from a Claudia Pierce goal early in the second half. The other victory over Franklin Pierce in team history was a 2-1 win in West Chester in November 2006, which sent West Chester through to its first National Semifinal appearance. The Golden Rams have also lost to the Ravens in 2005 and 2007, with both games played away from home: 2-1 in New Hampshire in 2005 and 1-0 in Albany in 2007.
Leading the Pack
Barber and Pungello are first and second in the NCAA Tournament in scoring with nine and seven points, respectively, through the first two weekends. Barber has a Tournament-best four goals and one assist, while Pungello has three goals and one assist to her name after two outstanding games on the opening weekend. Matter, who became the WCU career assist leader earlier this season, leads the Tournament field in assists with five, while Alexander is in a seven-way tie for second with two.
Keen is tied for third in the Tournament in shutouts with two, while also sitting in a tie for third in saves with 17 through her first three games.
As a team, the Golden Rams five-goal, 16-point effort in the win over West Virginia State in the first round still stands as the best offensive output by any team in the NCAA Tournament this season, as Barber led the way with the first NCAA Tournament Hat Trick in program history and the first in Division II since 2023.
How They Got Here
Franklin Pierce repeated as East Regional Champions as the Ravens advanced past Jefferson in the Regional Final for the second year in a row. In 2024, Jefferson and Franklin Pierce played to a 1-1 draw, and the Ravens advanced on PKs before defeating Shepherd in the National Quarterfinals, 2-1, on goals from Jenni Huttunen. Last Sunday, Franklin Pierce punched its ticket back to the Quarterfinals in what, for the Rams, may have been even more gut-wrenching fashion, with a 1-0 victory on a late own goal. Franklin Pierce dominated possession throughout the match, ending the game with a 12-5 lead in shots, a 5-3 lead in shots on goal, and a 7-2 lead in corners. The key moment came in the final eight minutes of the match when McKenna Maguire looked to cross the ball to Claudia Pierce, but instead found the leg of a Jefferson defender, who sent the ball past a waiting Carly Hayman for the eventual game-winner. Jess LaCroix made three saves in the victory, including back-to-back saves just before the eventual game winner.
Scouting Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce enters play on Saturday at 15-2-5 on the season on a five-game unbeaten streak after defeating Mercy and Jefferson to open the NCAA Tournament. The Ravens' last non-victory was a 1-1 draw and eventual PK loss to Saint Anselm in the NE10 Conference Championship game on November 16. The Ravens are no strangers to this stage: they advanced to the National Semifinals from this game a year ago, marking their first Semifinal appearance since 2007, and fell to West Chester in overtime in 2022 after stunning the College of St. Rose in the East Region Championship game earlier that weekend.
It is a number of familiar faces for Franklin Pierce leading the way in 2025, as Claudia Pierce, who scored the first goal and her first collegiate goal in the National Quarterfinal against West Chester in 2022, is the team's leading goal scorer in 2025 with nine goals and five assists for 23 points. Makenzie Shean is the team's leading scorer with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points. Shean is one of the more interesting stories on the Ravens as she began her career at Franklin Pierce in 2021 and 2022 before playing the 2023 season at Barry (FL) and rejoined the Ravens as a grad student in 2025. Jenni Huttunen is third in scoring with eight goals and four assists for 20 points. Huttunen was the hero in the Quarterfinals last year as she scored both goals, including her first goal off an assist from Olivia Crespo, who is fourth in scoring with five goals and five assists for 15 points before adding another via a late PK. The player, who last touched the ball for Franklin Pierce prior to the own goal on Sunday, was Maguire, who is fifth in scoring with five goals and four assists for 14 points.
In goal, LaCroix is one of two freshmen to have appeared between the pipes for the Ravens this season after sharing time with Ryan Rosario early in the season. Rosario last appeared in the Conference Championship match against Saint Anselm, is 5-1-2 on the year with a 0.81 goals-against average. LaCroix has been the starter through the NCAA Tournament and is 10-1-3 with a 0.81 goals-against average and seven shutouts.
With a Win
The winner of Saturday's game will punch its ticket to the National Semifinals in Colorado Springs on Thursday, December 11, to fight for a spot in the National Championship game on Saturday, December 13.
