Women's Soccer clinches playoff berth

The Slippery Rock women's soccer team recorded its eighth consecutive shutout  of the season and secured a spot in the PSAC playoffs, as they beat Mansfield University, 1-0 on Tuesday.

Their record now stands at 11-3-2 overall and 8-2-2 in the PSAC.

With the victory, the Rock currently has 26 points and moved into second place in the PSAC, sharing the spot with California University of Pa. The top eight teams in the league move on into the postseason.

Freshman Lucy Hannon tallied the lone goal for the Rock in the 21st minute of the first half, off an assist from her teammate, junior Shelby Ward.

Hannon leads the team in goals with nine for the season. She also leads the team in game-winning goals, with five.

Ward leads the team as well, with nine assists on the season.

The Rock led the Mountaineers in the first half with a 10-1 advantage in total shots and 4-0 in shots on goal.

Neither team was able to score in the second half, however, the Rock led with an 8-2 advantage in shots and a 2-0 advantage in shots on goal.

SRU finished the game with a 18-3 advantage in total shots and a 6-0 advantage in shots on goal, but Mansfield edged SRU with a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior goalie Lisa Rodgers earned the shutout for SRU.

With the shutout, Rodgers has seven total on the season, and has only given up five goals in 11 matches this season.

With the win, SRU moves its current shutout streak to 721 minutes since allowing a goal.

Junior goalkeeper Dana O'Neill is excited that the team has kept the playoff tradition alive and says they plan on finishing the regular season strong.

"It feels great knowing that we've continued our tradition of consistently  making the postseason," O'Neill said. "Our plan is to stay tough throughout the rest of the season to hopefully receive a high seed in the tournament. We will take each playoff game one at a time and do the simple things."

The Rock will host two consecutive Saturday games, this weekend against Gannon University at 3:30 p.m., and Lock Haven University next weekend at 2:30 p.m. Wins in both of these games would guarantee a top-four seed spot for the Rock in the playoffs and a home game for the opening round.

As a team, the Green and White has outscored its opponents by a margin of 29-6 on the season.

Senior midfielder Alyssa Barrett is thrilled that her team has already secured a spot in the playoffs .

"It's an amazing feeling to know that we have already locked up a spot in the PSAC," Barrett said. "Our season started a little rough so it's nice to see us bounce back so strong and clinch a spot before the regular season is even over. We are definitely going to keep performing our best in these last two games and into the playoffs."