No. 5 Bloomsburg Tops No. 1 West Chester, 3-2, In Overtime

The following is a press release from the West Chester Univeristy Athletic Department.

Bloomsburg’s Brooke Simonovich finished off a 2-on-1 break, tipping in a centering pass from Alexis Weber with 15 seconds left in the first overtime session, lifting No. 5 Huskies to a 3-2 victory over top-ranked West Chester Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss drops the Golden Rams to 10-2 overall and 5-1 in the PSAC Eastern Division and into a conference tie with Bloomsburg (11-3, 5-1).
 
An enthusiastic crowd at Vonnie Gros Field got a chance to witness a dramatic and fast-paced overtime period that included a penalty stroke by West Chester, which was blocked with a spectacular save by Bloomsburg goalkeeper Megan Eppley. Nancy Stehman drew a penalty midway through overtime to receive the penalty stroke.
 
The Golden Rams could not capitalize on the penalty stroke, or the four penalty corner opportunities they were awarded in the extra session. The Huskies ended up outshooting the Rams in overtime, 4-3, after being outshot, 9-2, in the second half.
 
West Chester opened the scoring early when Kelsi Lykens scored a quick goal off a perfect pass from Stef Pirri nine minutes into the match. Three minutes later, Bloomsburg responded with a goal from Amber Aulenbach off a penalty corner.
 
Michele Schrift’s team-leading 13th goal of the year gave the Golden Rams another lead early in the second half. However, midway through the second stanza, Bloomsburg knotted things up on an own goal. The overtime session provided most of the dramatics including great saves by both goalkeepers on fast breaks.
 
West Chester’s goalkeeper, Kristen Arnold (10-2), was solid in the cage, making some key kick saves late in the second half and into overtime. She finished with eight saves. Eppley (11-3) made 12 for Bloomsburg.
 
The Golden Rams look to rebound next Wednesday when they travel to face LIU Post in a PSAC East tilt. Game time is slated for 4 p.m.