BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- The West Chester University women's soccer team (2-1-1, 0-1-1) is preparing for its next PSAC East test as the Golden Rams visit No. 22 Bloomsburg (5-0-0, 2-0-0) on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 4 p.m.
West Chester remains in search of its first league win of the year after falling to Millersville by a 2-1 final under the lights of Pucillo Field on Wednesday night.
West Chester at Bloomsburg
Match Details: Saturday, September 20 I 4 P.M.
Location: Steph Petit Stadium (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Series: 28-21-6
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Last Time Out
West Chester traveled to Millersville on Wednesday night and fell to the Marauders by a 2-1 final despite ending the game with a 21-8 lead in shots, an 11-3 lead in shots on goal, and a 10-3 lead in corners.
Kianna Barber (Browns Mills, N.J./BCIT) scored for the second game in a row off an assist from
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) to tie the game at 1-1 just before the 70
th minute. Millersville broke the tie in the 82
nd minute when Aubrey Strohecker beat Keen to give the Marauders a 2-1 lead.
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) made one stop in goal in her first loss of the season, while Millersville keeper Sabrina Zimmerman was outstanding, making 10 saves to slow the potent Golden Ram offense.
Flock Talk
Barber and Matter are tied for first on the team in scoring with four points each, as Barber has two goals to her credit while Matter has scored one goal and added two assists. Five other Golden Rams have at least one point this season as
Makayla Condela (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) and
Maddie Mosier (Hockessin, Del./Padua) have both scored goals, while
Victoria Pungello (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial), Lauren Reimold (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East), and Brielle Zink (Islip, N.Y./Islip) all have assists.
Keen is 2-1-1 to open the season with a 0.50 goals-against average and 16 saves after yielding her first two goals of the season on Wednesday night.
A Helping Hand
With her assist on Barber's goal on Wednesday night, Matter moved into sole possession of first place on the Golden Rams career assist chart with 33 in her career, while also logging her 93
rd career point, which is fourth most in team history.
Keen's Start
Grace Keen was unbeaten with three shutouts to open the season, heading into Wednesday night's match at Millersville. While her season-opening unbeaten streak was halted, Keen is still in the midst of an excellent junior season as she has moved into sixth all-time in career shutouts with 20, while her 28 wins are tied for the eighth most in team history. Additionally, Keen has been credited with 16 saves this season, which has allowed her to move into a tie for seventh in team history with Heather Rinker, who made 173 stops from 2002 to 2005.
Series History
West Chester fell to 28-21-6 in the all-time series against Bloomsburg last November, falling by a 1-0 final at Bloomsburg for the first team's first loss against the Huskies since 2021. This setback was also the first loss at Bloomsburg since October 2019.
Scouting Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg is off to a hot start in 2025 as the Huskies are a perfect 5-0 overall and 2-0 in league play, including a 3-2 win at Millersville last weekend and a 1-0 win over Shippensburg on Wednesday afternoon.
Bloomsburg is outscoring opponents 16-2 through the first five games of the year, averaging 3.20 goals per game, while its foes average just 0.40 per contest. Alexa Arrigale is first on the team in scoring with four goals for eight points, while Olivia Thompson has three goals and one assist for seven points on the year. Haley Bull and Viktorya Luckenbach are close behind with five points each, with one goal and three assists, and two goals/one assist, respectively.
In goal, Samantha Merklin is continuing her excellent career under head coach Matt Haney, as she is perfect 5-0-0 with a 0.46 goals-against average and 20 saves in 392 minutes of work.
Up Next
West Chester will return home on Wednesday to take on No. 17 Kutztown beginning at 2 p.m. before heading to Lock Haven next Saturday night for a 7 p.m. start.
