WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Emma Suhoski (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) converted the fifth and final PK chance to lead the second-seeded West Chester University women's soccer team (13-2-2) past an upset-minded Seton Hill (7-6-6) team in the PSAC Women's Soccer Tournament quarterfinals on Rockwell Field on Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday's game officially ended in a scoreless draw after 110 minutes of action, and West Chester held off Seton Hill for a 3-2 victory on PKs to return to the PSAC Semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons.

"Thank god we came out winners," said head coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley. "Today was absolutely a battle for us. We had great opportunities all afternoon and couldn't seem to finish them off. I have to tip my cap to Seton Hill; they did a great job throwing us off our game a little bit and battling throughout the afternoon, but we kept fighting and had great energy throughout the day, and it paid off," continued Kempf Townsley.

Suhoski's winning PK was the third straight make for the Golden Rams as Abigail Hanneman (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro) and Jordan Nguyen (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Central) buried their chances after both sides, thanks in part to an early save by Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove), had failed to convert on their first two chances. Seton Hill started out 0-for-3 on PK attempts before converting its last two chances, but Suhoski's final make was enough to lead the Golden Rams back to the PSAC Semifinals.

"Emma is so confident in herself, and we thought in her PK practice leading up to this game she was doing a great job of continually putting balls away. She's very determined, and for her to come off the bench and finish the game like that in the fifth spot is huge," noted Kempf Townsley when asked about Suhoski serving as the hero for the Golden Rams in PKs.

Tuesday's result, officially entered into the record books as a scoreless draw, also allowed Keen to etch her name into Golden Ram history as the shutout was the 36^th of her Golden Ram career, moving the senior keeper into first all-time in career shutouts in team and PSAC history.

"I'm just really excited," noted Keen when asked about breaking the WCU and PSAC Career shutout records on Tuesday afternoon. "It's been a long four years, but I owe all 36 shutouts to every single back line I've had. I'm so proud of this entire team and our entire backline this year."

Keen made four saves in the draw and is also now third among all active Division II goalkeepers in shutouts, just one shutout behind Kristen Wright of Central Missouri for second among active players.
"Another tremendous day from Grace," acknowledged Kempf Townsley. "Breaking the record, saving that first PK, she really had a great day today and played with a lot of confidence as she has throughout her career, and I could not be more proud of her."

West Chester dominated the match throughout the afternoon on Tuesday, ending the Quarterfinal clash with a 26-8 lead in shots, a 12-1 lead in corners, and a 7-4 lead in shots on goal, but despite seemingly relentless pressure throughout the afternoon, West Chester was unable to find a goal, thus sending the game to PKs to decide which team would advance.

"I'm so excited to head back to the PSAC Semifinals again this season," continued Keen. "We've never played Slippery Rock since I've been here, so I'm excited to go out and face a new opponent and be extra aggressive so we don't find ourselves in the same position we were in today," finished Keen.

Up Next

West Chester will be back in action in the PSAC Semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. against PSAC West Regular Season Champion Slippery Rock at Slippery Rock.