The Rock finds themselves in a familiar position after losing their quarterfinal game to Cal U in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday.
SRU will now have to wait until Monday to see if they qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Last year, the Rock lost in the quarterfinals of the PSAC tournament to Gannon University, but went on to win the Atlantic Region title and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Junior midfielder Crysta Ganter believes that SRU will be in the NCAA tournament.
“I’m confident we will qualify,” Ganter said. “It really all depends on how West Virginia Wesleyn plays.”
If West Virginia Wesleyn University wins the MEC tournament, it could really put The Rock’s chances of qualifying into jeopardy.
SRU was defeated by Cal U 2-1.
If SRU would’ve beat Cal U, their tournament berth would have already been put on ice.
Both Vulcan goals came on miscues by the Rock that led to one on ones between Cal U’s Janelle McCann and SRU goalkeeper Annabelle Hegeman.
This was a winnable game for the Rock, seeing how both teams couldn’t really gain momentum all through the game and statistically both teams were even.
Both teams registered 11 total shots, while Cal U held the advantage in shots on goal 8-5, and SRU held the advantage in corner kicks 4-3.
After the Vulcans put their second goal on the board in the 82nd minute, SRU sophomore forward Dara Demich fed freshman midfielder Tess Keeley for her sixth goal of the season to give the Green and White a chance in the 88th minute.
However, it was too late to try to make a comeback. Hegeman took the loss in goal while recording six saves.
“We weren’t at our best, sometimes that happens,” SRU head coach Noreen Herlihy said. “We didn’t perform at the level we know we are capable of.”
The loss at Cal U is the first loss for the Rock on Vulcan turf since 2011.
SRU has recently dominated Cal U, winning the previous five meetings before Tuesday’s loss.
To put it into perspective, Cal U is 50-4-6 at home since their new complex opened with three of those losses coming to SRU.
“I give our overall performance a three on a scale of 1-10,” Ganter said. “Not many people showed up, the whole team seemed to not be there.”
However, even with this loss, the Rock have a chance to make the tournament.
There are two additional spots open.
The spots are being battled out by SRU, West Virginia Wesleyn, the University of Notre Dame, and Edinboro University.The announcement for the NCAA tournament berths will be announced Monday, Nov. 10.
