The Slippery Rock field hockey team lost its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game to no. 10 ranked West Chester University Saturday afternoon.
SRU played a tough game against the Golden Rams but ultimately fell by a score of 4-2.
Senior Megan McKay scored her fifth and sixth goals on the year and also accounted for four of the five SRU shots on goal. Senior Renee Rosenblum also recorded a shot on goal. Junior Kailee Krupski assisted McKay on one of the goals for her second assist of 2016. Sophomore Liz Wolfe and junior Kayla Mack each recorded a defensive save. It was Wolfe’s second and Mack’s first defensive save of the season.
Junior goalkeeper Nicole Bream recorded 10 saves while facing 16 shots. Bream has stopped 10 or more shots in three different games this year.
The Golden Rams struck first in the 26th minute on a goal from Kaitlin Hatch off of a tipped shot from Maya Gulliksen during a penalty corner.
WCU scored again in the 41st minute with a goal from Marnie Kusakavitch on a centering pass from Rachal Toppi and pulled ahead 2-0.
SRU broke through five minutes later on a McKay goal as she dribbled into the circle for the score which made it 2-1 West Chester.
Toppi then scored her second goal of the game at 48:44 on a tipped pass from Gulliksen, which put the Golden Rams up 3-1.
McKay made it a one-goal game at 3-2 with a goal in the 53rd minute off a pass from Krupski.
West Chester put any hopes of an upset to rest however when Hatch put in her third goal of the season to put WCU up 4-2 Rosenblum and McKay both recorded shots on goal in the final minutes, but neither got past WCU goalkeeper Sarah Krause.
West Chester held advantages in shots on goal (16-5) and penalty corners (12-3).
SRU falls to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in PSAC play while WCU improves to 4-4 and 1-0 in conference play.
Up next, The Rock will travel to No. 4 Millersville University for a PSAC matchup. The game will be at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28th.
