THE BASICS
Score: at No. 13 West Chester 3, Gannon 0
Location: West Chester, Pa. – WCU Soccer Field
Records: Gannon (9-9-0) / West Chester (16-1-1)
The Short Story: The No. 7 seeded Gannon women's soccer team concluded its run at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with a 3-0 quarterfinal loss to No. 2 seeded and 13th-nationally ranked West Chester Tuesday afternoon at the WCU Soccer Field. The Lady Knights made their fourth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Following an uneventful opening first five minutes of the match, West Chester's first offensive attack was blown dead on an offside call. On their next attempt, the Golden Rams struck first. Nikki Lynch scored her first tally of the season to give the host Golden Rams a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute off an assist by Sara Wulk.
- The Golden Rams came close to adding to their advantage in the 16th minute as Kara Parvel's shot rang off the post.
- On the last offensive attempt of the first half with under 45 seconds left, junior Mani Brueckner (Valencia, Pa./Mars Area) took a corner kick with the Lady Knights unable to capitalize on the late opportunity.
- The Lady Knights were outshot by the Golden Rams, 10-7, in the first half.
- Taking three of their six total corner kicks in the opening seven minutes of the second half, the Lady Knights came up empty on each attempt. The Lady Knights' best chance came off the first corner with senior Justine Rodrigues' (Georgetown, Ontario / Georgetown District) shot trickling wide.
- In the 36th minute, Haley Mangiaruga recorded her fourth goal of the season to extend the Golden Rams' lead to 2-0. Marissa Valenti picked up the assist on the goal.
- The Golden Rams capitalized off a corner kick in the 84th minute to seal the 3-0 win over the Lady Knights. Lexi Lentz sent the ball in from the corner, as Dana Hunt headed the ball in for her sixth of the season. Cara Deola collected a helper on the scrum.
- The Lady Knights controlled the play in the second half with a 7-5 shot advantage.
 
GAME NOTES
- Sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Differ (Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame C.S.S.) collected seven saves, while WCU goalkeeper Alex Srolis made four saves to secure her ninth shutout of the season.
- The Lady Knights were outshot for only the fourth time this season by a total of 15-14.
- Rodrigues and Brueckner each finished with a team-best four shots.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Making its fourth consecutive appearance at the PSAC tournament, Gannon has secured a berth in six of seven conference tournament since joining the league in 2008.
- The Lady Knights and Golden Rams have squared off in back-to-back conference tournaments, marking the second time the two squads have met in the postseason. Last season, the two teams faced each other in the PSAC semifinals with an identical result as the Golden Rams captured a 3-0 win en route to a conference runner-up finish.
- The Golden Rams have clinched their 10th appearance in the conference semifinals. Eight of their all-time 13 wins in the PSAC postseason have been recorded by shutout.
- The Lady Knights move to 1-7-1 in the all-time series against the Golden Rams.
 
UP NEXT
Gannon concludes the 2014 campaign with a 9-9-0 overall record. In the regular season, the Lady Knights posted a 9-7-0 record in conference action, winning four of their final five matches to secure a spot in the conference tournament.