Wednesday in the PSAC: Kutztown and Shippensburg Clinch, West Chester Keep the Playoff Race Alive, and Salisbury End Rowan’s 14-Game Run

The top of the PSAC is settled at the top, and it took two very different wins to settle it. Kutztown had to come back twice. Shippensburg had to wait until the last minute of the third quarter to break down a team camped in its own circle. Both are in the playoffs now, and both earned it the hard way.

Start in Kutztown, where the No. 1 side in the country beat No. 3 East Stroudsburg 3-2 at Andre Reed Stadium. East Stroudsburg struck first at the ten-minute mark, and Jessica Traynor answered 86 seconds later, battling in front of goal to make it 1-1. The Warriors went ahead again at 26:09 from a penalty stroke and took a 2-1 lead into half-time. Traynor levelled it again in the third quarter, redirecting a deflection off her sister Julia, and freshman Anna Harris delivered the winner at 39:19, redirecting a lifted shot from Ellie Myers into the top of the cage. Traynor scored twice. Kutztown outshot East Stroudsburg 22-5 and won the corners 12-6, but the Warriors’ goalkeepers still made 12 saves between them, six apiece, and that is why this stayed a game. Kutztown are 15-1 overall and 6-1 in the PSAC. East Stroudsburg are 13-3 and 5-2, knocked into third place in the conference. Neither side will want the other in the playoffs. They have already given each other all they can handle.

Shippensburg’s win was a different kind of grind. The Raiders beat Frostburg State 1-0 at home, and the only goal came with 36 seconds left in the third quarter, McKenna Boyle knocking down a blocked attempt from Elaina Fragassi and slotting it past Jenna Yazzetti. Yazzetti made 18 saves. Shippensburg outshot Frostburg 32-3, and 19-1 on goal, and Yazzetti even saved a penalty stroke from Juana Caracotche Picone in the final moments of the first quarter. Frostburg sat back and crowded their own circle, and for almost 45 minutes it worked. Grace Meinke, making her third straight start in goal, posted her second straight shutout and only had to make one save. That tells you the whole game. Shippensburg are 12-2 and 6-1 in the PSAC, tied with Kutztown at the top with one league loss each, and the win clinched a PSAC Tournament spot. Frostburg are 6-9 and 1-5. The Raiders go to Mansfield on Saturday at 1:00pm local time. Frostburg go to Kutztown the same day, same time, which is a brutal follow-up.

West Chester kept the other playoff race alive. The Golden Rams beat Millersville 4-1 away, and they did the damage early. Alexa Lehman scored off a penalty corner inside the opening seven minutes, Anna Finn made it 2-0 later in the first quarter, Allison Patel poked in a rebound late in the third, and Ciara Margetich, who also assisted on a goal, beat a defender inside the circle and scored with about four minutes left. Millersville broke up the shutout bid with a penalty corner of their own with just under two minutes left, and Erin Esterhuizen supplied five of the Marauders’ eight shots. West Chester are 9-6 and 2-5 in the PSAC, tied for sixth with Slippery Rock and Mansfield, and the sixth and final playoff spot is now the prize. Slippery Rock visit West Chester on Saturday at 1:00pm local time, on Senior Day, with that spot hanging in the balance. Millersville are 3-12 and 0-7 in the league, still chasing a first league win with two games left, and coach Shelly Behrens was honest about it afterwards: lots of positives, but West Chester are a great opponent, and her side need to compete a little harder.

And then there was the game of the night outside the PSAC. Salisbury beat Rowan 4-3 in Glassboro, ending the Profs’ 14-game winning streak, their first loss since 9 September. Layla Kent scored a hat-trick, opening the scoring at 12 minutes and adding a second at 25:09. Rowan fought back early in the third, Gracie Merrick following in a shot from Mia Foti and Sydney Kowalczyk tying it 2-2 at 31:33 from an Olivia Griffin pass. Tessa Gray put Salisbury back in front, Rowan tied it again at 3-3 through Aurelia McManis at 36:11, and Kent settled it at 41:34, controlling a loose ball and chipping it in. Salisbury outshot Rowan 12-9, Ella Morton made six saves for the Profs and Maddie Castaneda made four for the Sea Gulls. Rowan are 14-4 and 6-0 in the NJAC, and they have already clinched a sixth straight conference regular-season title and a bye into the NJAC semi-finals, which they host on Wednesday 4 November. Losing a streak stings, but it changes nothing about their postseason. Salisbury are 12-3 and host TCNJ on Saturday at 1:00pm local time for Senior Day. Beating a team on a 14-game run, away from home, is the kind of win that follows a team into November.

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