WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) gave West Chester (1-0-0) an early 1-0 lead in the 20
th minute, and the Golden Rams doubled their lead late in the first half in a dominant 2-0 victory over West Virginia State (0-1-0) in the season opener on Rockwell Field on Thursday afternoon.
"I'm certainly excited about the win," said head coach
Betty Ann Kempf Townsley after the victory. "West Virginia State was a team that won its league and was an NCAA Tournament team last year, so getting a complete 2-0 win like this was great to see. We came out strong, and I saw a lot of good things out of the team this afternoon," concluded Kempf Townsley.
Matter scored the first goal of the season for the Golden Rams, finishing a pass from the midfield off the foot of
Victoria Pungello (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) to give the Golden Rams an early 1-0 lead.
Matter's goal was the 30
th of her career, which moved her into a tie for fourth in career points with 91, matching Christina Almquist (1997-00) for fourth all-time in career points. Matter is now just two goals away from matching
Alyson Cutter (2021-24) for fifth all-time in goals.
In the 36
th minute,
Lauren Reimold (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) hit a from deep in West Chester territory, perhaps with the intention of only clearing the ball but
Makayla Condela (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) won a foot race to the ball and dribbled around a charging WVSU keeper to score her first collegiate goal and give West Chester a 2-0 lead.
This goal finished off a strong first half of soccer from West Chester, which saw the Golden Rams outshoot their guests by a 9-2 margin, along with a 3-0 lead in corners.
In the 58
th minute, Matter found her way into space once again and nearly converted her second goal of the afternoon, but a sprawling save by Poppy Bastock was enough to force a WCU corner and keep the game locked at 2-0 for at least a few more minutes.
This chance was just the latest in a game that saw West Chester dominate the possession and the pace for much of the afternoon.
Matter continued to be a nightmarish figure for the Yellow Jacket defense as she took a shot from distance in the 62
nd minute, which nearly found its way just under the crossbar, but Bastock, who made 11 saves, which is the fourth most in a single game in WVSU team history, was able to punch it high and keep the Golden Ram lead at 2-0.
West Chester continued to apply pressure through the late stages of the match, but the Yellow Jacket defense, led by 11 saves from Bastock, stood tall late and kept the Golden Ram offense off the scoreboard throughout the second half in the season opener.
West Virginia State did not record its first corner kick until the 65
th minute and would not win another corner until the 86
th minute as part of a final flurry in hopes of avoiding a shutout.
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) earned her first shutout of the season and 18
th of her career, moving into a tie with Stacie Bencivengo for seventh most in team history, with two saves, making one stop in each half.
The back line, which featured the collegiate debut of
Katie Dougherty (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown West), was spectacular on Thursday as well, preventing the potent Yellow Jacket offense from getting good looks on goal throughout the afternoon.
West Chester dominated in all facets of the game on Thursday afternoon as the Golden Rams finished the afternoon with an 18-4 lead in shots, including a 13-2 lead in shots on goal, while also finishing the game with a 10-2 lead in corners.
Notes:
West Chester improved to 21-0-4 in season openers dating back to 2001 as Coach Kempf Townsley remained unbeaten in openers with the Golden Rams, improving to 14-0-3 in her time at the helm.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at Shippensburg beginning at 2 p.m. before hosting Jefferson next Tuesday in its second and final non-league matchup of the year at 2 p.m. as well.
