The Slippery Rock University women’s soccer team took on the no. 3 ranked East Stroudsburg University Warriors this Saturday in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) match-up. The game ended in a tie, giving The Rock their first stalemate of the season. The women are now 7-4-1 overall and 7-2-1 in the PSAC.
The lone goal for Slippery Rock was scored in the seventh minute off a free kick by senior Sam Thornton that was headed into the goal by senior Dara Demich. With the goal, Demich now has three goals on the season and has scored in each of her last three games.
Rock head coach Jessica Griggs said that Demich has been playing with a target on her back all season and does not believe the senior captain and former All-American has been under-performing up to this point.
“It is wrong to say she (Demich) had a slow start to the season,” Griggs said. “Dara has been performing extremely well for us this year and I know she will continue to do just that.”
The Rock was only minutes away from claiming victory over the Warriors when East Stroudsburg’s Shea Neal scored in the eighty-third minute, tying the match and sending the teams into two overtime periods.
Overtime proved to be unsuccessful for either team, however, with neither team being able to take the upper hand on the other.
Seniors Andrea Felix and Sam Thornton and junior Maddy Tletski each recorded two shots with each of them having one on goal. Juniors Tess Keeley and Maddy Smith and sophomore Brooke Testa each recorded a shot apiece.
Defensively, the Green and White stopped an aggressive Warrior offense that had multiple chances to score.
“We actually changed how we normally lineup for defense because of how different they (East Stroudsburg) lineup offensively compared to other teams,” Griggs said. “It proved to work pretty well for us.”
Sophomore goalie Kylie Downs continued her strong season in net for The Rock. Playing all 110 minutes, Downs only allowed the one goal and had six saves.
Next up for Slippery Rock, the women will travel to Clarion University to take on the Golden Eagles in a PSAC match-up. The match is scheduled for this Tuesday at 7 p.m.
