SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.- For the second time this week, the 15^th-ranked West Chester University women's soccer team (13-2-3) found itself in need of penalty kicks to potentially extend its PSAC Tournament as the Golden Rams battled to a 1-1 draw with No. 23 Slippery Rock (15-2-3) after 110 minutes of action on a rain-soaked James Egli Field on Friday afternoon. After advancing past Seton Hill on PKs on Tuesday, the Golden Rams fell to the Rock 4-3 in PKs after a Leah Allman save on the Golden Rams' final PK chance of the afternoon.

West Chester found itself trailing early when Sophia Palermo finished a bouncing ball in the box off a corner to give the Rock a 1-0 lead just over a minute into the match.

Adriana Ryder (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) helped West Chester answer quickly with a goal on a poor pass through the box by Slippery Rock in the 10^th minute, tying the game at 1-1.

Slippery Rock had a pair of strong chances in the final 25 minutes of the match, getting a mini breakaway chance that was halted by a charging Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) before another late chance hit the post, and Keen finally corralled the loose ball on the goal line to force overtime.

West Chester applied heavy pressure in the first overtime as the Golden Rams outshot the Rock 3-0, including an early shot by Kianna Barber (Browns Mills, N.J./BCIT), which forced Leah Allman to make a sliding stop.

 In the second overtime, Bailey McGee had back-to-back strong chances for the Rock, blasting a chance from just outside the box off the crossbar before a free kick opportunity slid wide, keeping the score locked at1-1 heading into the final minutes of overtime. Bella Gianfrancesco had the final chance of the match for either side with eight seconds to play, but the chance went wide, sending the match to penalty kicks to decide an advancing team.

With its second draw of the PSAC Tournament after battling to a scoreless draw with Seton Hill on Rockwell Field on Tuesday in the PSAC Quarterfinals before advancing on PKs, West Chester fell to the Rock in PKs as Leah Allman made perhaps her biggest save of the day after making six stops in the first 110 minutes of action to send the Rock through to the PSAC Championship match against Gannon on Sunday afternoon. Kaylee Nagle (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North), Brielle Zink (Islip, N.Y./Islip), and Jordan Nguyen (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Central) all converted their chances for West Chester as the Golden Rams PSAC Tournament run reached its conclusion. 

Slippery Rock finished the game with a 28-18 lead in shots and an 11-7 lead in shots on goal, despite West Chester finishing the match with a 10-7 lead in shots on goal.

Keen was excellent for West Chester in goal on Friday afternoon, making nine saves in 110 minutes and a huge stop in the shootout that kept the Golden Rams' hopes alive into the fifth and final round of kicks.

Allman was equally as impressive for Slippery Rock, making six saves to earn what will officially go into the record books as a draw before making her first save on a penalty kick on the Golden Rams' final chance of the afternoon to send the Rock through to their first PSAC Championship game appearance since 2019, when the Rock captured its fourth PSAC Championship with a 2-1 win over Edinboro.

Up Next

After a pair of draws in the first two PSAC Tournament games, West Chester will now wait for the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Selection show on Monday night at 7 p.m. to learn its NCAA Tournament fate.