Women's soccer advances through PSAC quarterfinals

The No. 22 ranked Slippery Rock University women's soccer team knocked off two-time defending champion West Chester University on Tuesday in the PSAC quarterfinals by a score of 1-0.

With the win, the Rock moved to a 14-3-2 overall record and improved their shutout streak to 11 consecutive games. The team has not allowed a goal since Sept. 24 when Kutztown University scored a goal with only one minute left in regulation play.

The win on Tuesday was the first Rock win over the West Chester in playoff history.

Last year, SRU was bumped out of the PSAC semifinals by a shootout between the two teams.

However, on Tuesday, the Rock avenged the loss by shutting down West Chester, who has made it to the PSAC semifinals for six consecutive years, and denied the Golden Rams the opportunity to potentially win the conference for the fifth time out of the last six seasons.

Junior midfielder Marissa Anderson said it feels great to finally beat West Chester in the playoffs.

"It's seriously the best feeling in the world to know that all the hard work we've done in the last three months is paying off in the postseason," Anderson said.

Sophomore Kara Mullins tallied the lone goal of the game off an assist from freshman Lucy Hannon in the 69th minute of the game. This was Mullins' fifth game-winning goal of the season.

West Chester held an 11-9 advantage in total shots and a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Rock edged the Golden Rams with a 7-6 advantage in corner kicks.  

Senior Lisa Rodgers stopped four shots and currently leads the PSAC with her 10th shutout of the season.

Sophomore midfielder Stephanie Buckenheimer said the team's passion to succeed led them to the victory on Tuesday.

"The win definitely came from the team's determination to beat the two-time defending champs, and also the determination to move forward and win the PSAC championship," Buckenheimer said.

The Rock will play No. 17 Kutztown University in the PSAC semifinals at 1:30 p.m. today at California University of Pa.

The winner of this game will move on to play either California or Edinboro University in the championship game at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  

Junior forward Erin Storck said that the Rock is heading to Cal. U today ready to play a solid game.  

"Expect a really great game against Kutztown that will be played at a high intensity level," Storck said. "We will come out strong and give 100 percent from start to finish."

Storck said this year has taught her a lot about the character of her teammates.

"This season taught me that our team has a lot of heart," Storck said. "The girls are very hard working and when we had some struggles in the middle of the season, we didn't get down on ourselves, but tried even harder."