WEST CHESTER, Pa.- For the first time since 2012, the West Chester University women's soccer team (1-0-1) is preparing for its second and final non-league game of the year on Tuesday when the Golden Rams welcome #11 Jefferson (1-0-0) to Rockwell Field for a 2 p.m. start.
West Chester vs Jefferson
Game Details: Tuesday, September 9 I 2 p.m.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 7-8-4 (5-2-3 in last 10 meetings)
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Last Time Out
Looking to build off a dominant 2-0 victory over West Virginia State on Thursday afternoon, the Golden Rams visited Shippensburg on Saturday for their PSAC East opener against the Raiders. Looking to exact revenge from a loss at Shippensburg last October, West Chester battled to a scoreless draw with the Raiders, dropping to 1-0-1 on the year. The Golden Rams ended the game with a 17-6 lead in shots and a 5-3 lead in shots on goal, but none of these chances resulted in the game-winner for West Chester.
How Long Ago
West Chester opens the year with two non-league games in its first three games of the season for the first time since 2012, when the team defeated Chestnut Hill and Jefferson (then Philadelphia University) by 6-0 and 4-0 finals on August 30 and September 1 of that season.
Check the Record Book
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) continued her march through the record books on Saturday as she moved into a tie for sixth in career shutouts with the 19
th shutout of her career, matching Shannon Fedyk's mark from the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Keen is also just one win shy of tying Fedyk's 28 wins for the eighth most by a keeper in WCU history.
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) scored her 30
th career goal in the opener to move within two goals of tying
Alyson Cutter for fifth all-time in goals and matched Christina Almquist for fourth all-time in points with 91 on Thursday as well. She also remains one assist shy of tying Sarah Oswald for the program record in assists as she enters play on Tuesday with 31 career helpers.
Series History
West Chester is 7-8-4 all-time vs Jefferson, including a 2-2 draw on the road in August 2023, which halted a modest five-game winning streak in the series for West Chester. The Golden Rams have not lost to the Rams since September 2003, when Jefferson escaped West Chester with a 2-1 win over the Golden Rams.
Scouting Jefferson
Ranked 11
th in Division II, Jefferson enters play on Tuesday afternoon following a 4-0 shutout victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on the road on Sunday afternoon. Evelin Ventura Garcia was the first goal scorer of the season for Jefferson, scoring in the 29
th minute to give the Rams a 1-0 halftime lead. Avery Nogami added a goal of her own in the 51
st minute, and Kyra Lesko added a pair in the 72
nd and 87
th minutes to guide the Rams to the 4-0 victory. Michelle Jacquette earned her first win as the Rams' head coach, while Carly Hayman made her first start and earned her first victory in goal for Jefferson with four saves.
Returning from a 2024 season, which saw them go 19-1-3 and make a run in the NCAA Tournament, the Rams return two of their leading scorers from that squad, including Nikki Dedes, who scored 11 goals and added four assists, along with Lesko, who chipped in seven goals and four assists last year as well. Lesko got off to a fast start on Sunday, scoring her first two goals of the year in a dominant win over STAC. Liv Riddel, who appeared and started in all 23 games a year ago, graduated after posting a record of 18-1-3 with a 0.44 goals-against average in her final season but Hayman, who played 72 minutes over the course of two games as a rookie, appears to be a competent replacement after making four saves in her first start on Sunday.
Michelle Jacquette is a new face on the Rams sideline, replacing Kyle Schumann, who led the team from the end of the 2022 season through the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. Jacquette made the move to East Falls after serving as an assistant coach at Temple and Swarthmore previously.
Up Next
West Chester will jump back into PSAC East play on Saturday afternoon against Mansfield beginning at 1 p.m. on Rockwell Field.
