It’s been a long time since Clarion University of Pennsylvania beat The Rock. At home, in a night game they were able to pull off the upset over Slippery Rock. On only four shots, Clarion scored two goals and kept The Rock’s explosive offense from finding the back of the net again.
The Rock took the early lead with a goal nearly six minutes in from Jordyn Minda. It looked as if The Rock was going to put up more than just that one goal. In the first matchup against the Golden Eagles this year, they lit up the scoreboard with seven goals. But in this game, they were held scoreless for the final 85 minutes of action.
Clarion put both their goals up in the span of only three minutes. The first came from Kylee Cross as she beat goalkeeper Emma Yoder and knotted the game up at one. Three minutes later Cross assisted Madison Spitko for her first goal of the season. Just like that, Slippery Rock found themselves trailing to the Golden Eagles.
In total, The Rock put up 22 shots and had 15 on goal. But Clarion goalkeeper Alexandra Velez made 14 saves to secure the upset victory over Slippery Rock. Since 2003, The Rock has had a record of 25-0-2 against the Golden Eagles. Now there is a one in the loss column.
The Rock will look to rebound against a tough University of Pittsburgh Johnstown team on the road. They beat them earlier in the season after Pitt-Johnstown’s goalie allowed two goals. She was successful in shutting down The Rock’s offense, but Kayla Swope and Rachel Edge were able to find the back of the net after they caught the goalie outside of the box. Those miscues made all the difference. Leading into the home stretch of the season, every game is important.
