Ticket Information: Tickets for Friday's semifinal game are $7 for adults and $2 for students. All PSAC students will be admitted into the game for free with a valid school ID.
 
Storyline: The Golden Bears clinched the third seed in the tournament following a 12-4 record in conference play this season, and topped the sixth-seeded Edinboro Fighting Scots in the quarterfinal round, 2-0. West Chester claimed the second seed in the tournament after posting a 14-1-1 PSAC record in regular season play, eventually defeating seventh-seeded Gannon University in the quarterfinals, 3-0. The top four seeds in the tournament advanced to the second round.
 
Last Time Out: After Edinboro disrupted Kutztown's nine-game winning streak in the second-to-last game of the regular season, the Golden Bears found revenge in the playoffs. KU's four captains led the squad to a 2-0 victory over the Fighting Scots on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals. (Quarterfinal recap)
 
Postseason Regulars: Kutztown qualified for the PSAC Tournament for the seventh-consecutive season. KU has reached the quarterfinals three times (2008, 2012, 2013), the semifinals once (2010), and the championship game twice (2009, 2011) in the previous six seasons. Kutztown is searching for its first-ever PSAC Championship.
 
National Recognition: The Golden Bears entered the national rankings three weeks ago at No. 23, and have since jumped up to No. 19. They are ranked fourth in the NCAA Atlantic Regional poll. The official NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced on Monday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. on NCAA.com. (National Rankings | Regional Rankings)
 
High Honors: Senior Sam Costello (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) became the first Golden Bear in KU women's soccer history to be named the PSAC Athlete of the Year this season. KU had a PSAC-high three first-team selections, as juniors Diana Malanga (Lavallette, N.J./St. Rose) and Sam Busillo (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) joined Costello on the top team. (All-PSAC Release)
 
Last Meeting: The Golden Bears and the Golden Rams have not met on the pitch since the second game of the 2014 season back on Sept. 6. WCU came out with a 2-0 win in a game halted by two weather delays.
 
Golden Rivalry: The two squads met in primetime games last season. During the regular season, Kutztown defeated then-seventh-ranked West Chester 3-2 at home in the second game of the season. WCU got its revenge in the opening round of last year's PSAC tournament, knocking out the Golden Bears 2-1. Kutztown fired back in the next game, where it found the Golden Rams in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regionals. The Maroon and Gold triumphed 2-0 to give the program is first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
 
Streaks and Shutouts: The Golden Bears set a new program record with nine consecutive wins this season. The Kutztown defense recorded nine shutouts during the regular season and one in the postseason, including a four-game stretch where they outscored their opponents 10-0.
 
Costello Finishing Strong: After starting the year off without a point in the first six games, Costello has tallied at least one point in nine of her last 12 games. Costello leads the team with a career-high 10 goals and 24 points, and is tied for the team-lead with four assists. She recently took sole possession of fifth place in school history with 24 career goals and her 68 career points tie her for fourth in KU history. This season, she leads the PSAC in points per game (1.60) and goals per game (.667).
 
Between the Pipes: Freshman goalkeeper Deanna Messner (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood) has been rock solid in net for the Golden Bears in her inaugural campaign, tallying 66 saves and eight shutouts. Messner's 0.71 goals-against-average is good for second in KU single-season history. She also moved up to a tie for second in single-season wins with 14.
 
Scouting the Golden Rams: West Chester has won four PSAC Championships (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010), the last three under eighth-year head coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley, who has a 125-27-19 record at WCU.
 
Senior midfielder Carly Yost (7 goals, 6 assists) and junior back Erika Schrock were named to the All-PSAC first team, and sophomore forward Kara Parvel (7 goals, 1 assist) was named to the second team. In goal, sophomore Alex Srolis has started all 18 games and is second in the PSAC in goals against average (0.50) and third in save percentage (0.873).
 
WCU ranks second in the PSAC in goals for (2.39 per game) and allowed (0.50 per game). The Golden Rams won their quarterfinal game vs. Gannon, 3-0, on goals from Nikki Lynch (8th minute), Haley Mangiaruga (36th) and Dana Hunt (84th).
 
Other Side of the Bracket: ESU Season Stats | Cal-U Season Stats
Top-seed and tournament host East Stroudsburg University squares off against fourth-seeded California University (PA) in a semifinal matchup at 1 p.m. on Friday.
 
Scouting the Warriors: After Kutztown defeated ESU in the season-opener, the Warriors have won all 18 games since. The 18-game winning streak is the second-longest in PSAC history and has moved the Warriors to the No. 1 spot in the Atlantic Region rankings.
 
ESU reached the semifinals following a 5-0 rout over Indiana University (PA) in the quarterfinals, which marked the most goals and largest margin of victory in a postseason game in program history. The Warriors scored four goals in the second half to pull away from the Crimson Hawks and tied another school record with their fifth straight shutout. ESU has played 470:53 since allowing its last goal.
 
ESU ranks first in the PSAC in both goals scored (2.74) and goals against (0.47), resulting in a 52-9 goal differential in 19 games. The Warriors had six All-PSAC selections, the most in the conference, led by two on the first team in sophomore midfielder Shea Neal (6 goals, 2 assists) and senior back Lexie Peveraro, who has made 73 career starts. Neal was also named to the first team as a freshman and was ESU's only returning All-PSAC player entering 2014.
 
Scouting the Vulcans: Cal reached the semifinals with a 2-1 win over Slippery Rock, getting two goals from junior forward Janelle McCann, a third team All-PSAC selection who shares the PSAC lead in goals (11) with teammate Chelsea Crockett, a senior forward and first team All-PSAC pick.
 
The Vulcans also feature senior midfielder Erin Hogan (2 goals, 10 assists), a first team pick, and senior back Megan Politowski, named to the second team. Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Jayes ranks fourth in the PSAC in both goals against average (0.64) and save percentage (0.863).
 
The Vulcans are the defending PSAC Champions, and have won two of the last three titles.
 
Next Up: The winners of the two semifinal matches will advance to the PSAC Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. The Championship game will also be hosted by ESU at Eiler-Martin Stadium.