Slippery Rock women’s soccer edged Shippensburg University Tuesday afternoon 1-0 in a double-overtime thriller to win its first round match of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament.
Junior forward Dara Demich scored The Rock’s lone goal, and her 12th of the season, after 108 minutes of play when she made a long run and blew by a Bloomsburg defender. She had five total shots, the most of any Rock player during the game, with three shots being on goal.
“For our coaching staff, her goal was a big sigh of relief,” Rock head coach Jessica Griggs said. “It was a great celebration for our girls. I was able to calm my nerves a little bit and sit down and take a big sigh of relief.”
Demich was followed by other offensive threats, freshman forward Skye Kramer and sophomore defender Maddy Tletski, both having two shots on goal. Seniors Caitlin Binder and Allison Harbart each added a shot on goal as well.
While the first half was mainly a possession battle with little action near each team’s goals, The Rock brought much more intensity to the following periods. The Green and White stepped up their game by firing ten shots in the second half and forcing five corner kicks. Offensively, The Rock put more pressure on the Raiders than vice versa, dominating corner kicks (7 to 1), overall shots (16 to 8) and shots on goal (9 to 5).
Freshman goalkeeper Charlotte Elrod made five saves, including one in the 102 minute of double overtime, to secure her eighth shutout on the season. The Green and White’s defense proved throughout the entirety of the game that Shippensburg was not the more offensive team on the field.
“A lot of their shots were from distance which made it easy for Charlotte to handle,” Griggs said. “Any shot that was a little bit more dangerous was either blocked by a defender or Charlotte handled it very well.”
The win makes SRU’s fifth consecutive victory and secures the team to a trip to the second round of the PSAC playoffs. Slippery Rock will host East Stroudsburg University Friday at 11 a.m., looking to advance the PSAC Finals.
