WEST CHESTER, PA – The stakes could not be any higher for the Golden Rams on Saturday. The seventh-ranked Golden Rams welcome ninth-ranked The Rock to Vonnie Gros Field for a battle to decide the sixth and final spot in the postseason tournament.
- West Chester, Slippery Rock and Mansfield are all tied for sixth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) standings. The top six teams will make the postseason tournament. As things stand right now, Slippery Rock controls its own destiny. With two games left in the regular season, including today, The Rock plays both West Chester and Mansfield. West Chester travels to Frostburg State next Saturday to close out the regular season. Frostburg State sits in ninth place at 1-5 … one half game behind WCU, The Rock and the Mounties. It is still possible for Frostburg to leap that trio, however, that would take wins over Kutztown, IUP and West Chester, which is unlikely. Mansfield takes on Shippensburg today and would need a win over the Raiders to keep their postseason aspirations alive.
- West Chester is coming off an impressive performance at Millersville during the week. The Golden Rams kept the Marauders off the board until the final minute of the game in a 4-1 victory on the road. It was the second win over Millersville for West Chester this fall.
- West Chester is 15-1 all-time against Slippery Rock and on an 8-game winning streak against The Rock entering Saturday's tilt. The Rock defeated the Golden Rams in 2017, 4-3, for its only win in the series. However, last year's contest between these two was decided by Veerle Hersman's penalty stroke goal in the first quarter as West Chester claimed a 1-0 victory over Slippery Rock.
- West Chester was ranked seventh in the latest NPI Atlantic Region rankings published on Monday. Slippery Rock was ranked eighth. The NCAA Power Index (NPI) is the new ranking system used by the NCAA to determine postseason fields in Division II. The NPI evaluates a team's season by considering both results and the strength of the teams it plays. Each contest produces a value based on whether the team won, lost or tied and the opponent's NPI.
- The top five teams from the Atlantic Region earn berths into the NCAA Tournament. Conference tournament champions from the PSAC and South Atlantic Conference (SAC) garner auto bids while the NPI determines the three at-large berths.
Up Next
West Chester heads to Maryland next Saturday afternoon to close out the regular season against Frostburg State at 1 p.m.
