PSAC FINALS: EDINBORO Fighting Scots (14-6-0) vs. EAST STROUDSBURGWarriors (10-6-2)Date: Sunday, November 8, 2015
Site: Erie, Pa.
Stadium: McConnell Family Stadium
Start Time: 1:00 p.m.
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/gannon/wsoc/Live Stream: http://www.gannonsports.com/watch/?Live=50Radio: WFSE 88.9 (Streamed on
www.edinboronow.com)
Series HistorySeries Record:Edinboro leads9-7-1
Last Meeting: 2015 -- Edinboro 2, East Stroudsburg 1
The Game StoryThe Edinboro women's soccer team will appear in their first ever PSAC Finals match as they challenge East Stroudsburg for the PSAC Championship at 1:00 p.m. at McConnell Family Stadium at Gannon University.
Edinboro is the fourth seed in the PSAC Tournament and holds a 14-6-0 overall record. The Fighting Scots took down fifth-seed Kutztown in the quarterfinals, 1-0, and upset fifth-ranked and first-seed Gannon in the semifinals, 3-1. This is the Scots' tenth overall appearance in the PSAC Tournament and their sixth consecutive appearance under head coach
Gary Kagiavas, who has led the Edinboro women's soccer program since their inception in 1996. They have won their last five matches. Edinboro was ranked fifth in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region poll.
East Stroudsburg is the seventh seed in the conference tournament with a 10-6-2 overall record. Despite what the numbers say, do not count out the Warriors by any stretch. They have successfully climbed a steep hill to get to the PSAC Finals. Their last three matches were against the top three teams in the PSAC, and they won each one. The Warriors defeated then-undefeated-and-first-ranked Gannon in the regular season finale, 4-2, took down second-seed West Chester in the quarterfinals in penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw, and beat third-seed Slippery Rock in the semifinals, 2-0.
East Stroudsburg's last loss, coincidentally, was against Edinboro back on October 24, 2-1. The Fighting Scots lead the all-time series against the Warriors, 9-7-1. The Scots have won the last eight of ten matches against ESU. This is the first time that both teams will meet in the playoffs.
The winner of this match will not only be crowned PSAC Champions, but they will also earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer National Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, November 13.
On the RadioThe Edinboro-ESU PSAC Finalsgame can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the commentary.
Against East StroudsburgThe Fighting Scots are 9-7-1 all-time against the Warriors and have won eight of the last ten matches against them, including a 2-1 victory back on October 24.
Alex Brown gave the Scots the early lead in the 13th minute with a goal off an assist from
Halle Hammer. Shea Neal netted the Warriors' equalizer in the 50th minute from 20 yards out.
Jansen Hartmann put Edinboro up for good with a 77th-minute goal for the Scots win.
Opportunity knocked for the Fighting Scots early in the match, as Gannon's Becca Albert was given a red card in the 18th minute, causing the Golden Knights to play with ten players for the remainder of the game. As she did in the quarterfinals,
Alex Brown stepped up and put Edinboro on the board first against fifth-ranked and first-seed Gannon with a goal in the 24th minute. Brown grabbed a pass from
Jansen Hartmann, split two defenders, and shot the ball past goalkeeper Shannon Differ for a 1-0 Edinboro lead. The match would stay that way until the 61st minute, when Hartmann, the team's leading scorer, watched as her shot from the right end deflected off Differ and into the goal to put the Fighting Scots up, 2-0. Gannon tried mightily to rally, even outshooting the Scots in the second half 17-6. Only one shot made its way past the Edinboro defense and goalie
Sarah Baskey, a 75th-minute goal by Ally Sharpe to bring the Golden Knights to within one goal. With Gannon mounting a late threat, Brown came to the rescue in the 81st minute, scoring an insurance goal to propel Edinboro to the PSAC Finals for the first time in school history.
PSAC Quarterfinals: Edinboro 1, Kutztown 0Edinboro, who fell to Kutztown in last year's conference quarterfinals match, exacted revenge against the fifth-seed Golden Bears in the PSAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday at Sox Harrison Stadium. The Fighting Scots had previously defeated the Golden Bears in the regular season, 4-1.
Alex Brown fired a shot from 25 yards out in the 67th minute that found the back of the net, which proved to be the game-winning goal. Goalkeeper
Sarah Baskey had four saves and improved her record to 11-4-0.
East Stroudsburg's Road to the FinalsPSAC Semifinals: East Stroudsburg 2, Slippery Rock 0Team-leading scorer Sammi Jo Hughes scored both goals in the Warriors' semifinals contest against third-seed The Rock. The match was scoreless for most of the first half, until Hughes headed in a shot off a cross from Molly Vicari inside the right post to give East Stroudsburg a 1-0 lead at halftime. Hughes didn't waste much time in the second half scoring her second goal of the match, scoring one in the 56th minute, assisted again by Vicari. Despite being outshot by Slippery Rock, 16-12, Warriors goalkeeper Jules Harris stepped up each time, batting away six shots. The Rock had ten shots in the second half, but to no avail.
PSAC Quarterfinals: East Stroudsburg 0, West Chester 0 (ESU Advanced on Penalty Kicks, 4-3)Great defense by the Warriors and stellar goalkeeping by Jules Harris kept this match scoreless for 110 total minutes at second-seed West Chester. The match went to penalty kicks, where the Golden Rams succeeded in scoring their first two shots for a 2-1 shootout lead. However, they would miss their next two chances, and a successful shot by ESU's Kyra Dubost tied the shootout at two. After each team scored their next shots to tie it at three, West Chester's Linzi Wolfe missed her shot and the Warriors' Danielle Curran fired in the game-winning shot to send East Stroudsburg to the PSAC Semifinals.
