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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The No. 18 Kutztown University women's soccer team will compete in its first-ever Atlantic Region final when it travels to No. 4 West Chester for an 11 a.m. showdown at Rockwell Field this Friday, Nov. 18.
 
The winner will advance to the Elite Eight on Sunday at 12 p.m. – also at Rockwell Field - to face the winner of the East Region Final between No. 8 Adelphi (16-3-1) and No. 14 Bridgeport (17-3), which will be contested on Friday at 1:30 p.m. after the conclusion of the KU-West Chester match.  
 
Ticket prices for this weekend's matches will be $7 for adults, $3 for students/senior citizens and $1 for children aged 2-12. Fans not able to attend can follow the action through either Video or Live Stats.
 
Second-seeded Kutztown advanced to the Third Round for the first time in program history by winning just its second-ever NCAA Tournament match last Sunday, Nov. 13 when it shutout third-seeded Charleston (WV) 1-0 in its Second Round matchup. The result added to historic a historic campaign that has already saw the Golden Bears set program-records for wins in a season (18), regular season victories (15) and PSAC wins (13).
 
With time winding down in the first half, freshman Schyler Ackerman (Mountville, Pa./Hempfield) sent in a high cross from the left sideline and her fellow classmate Cara Griffith (Dickson City, Pa./Scranton Prep) headed it home for what turned out to be the eventual game-winner with just five seconds left on the clock. From there, the defense held on for its PSAC-leading 12th shutout of the season, one shy of tying the school-record from 2009.
 
That 2009 team also holds the mark for fewest goals allowed in a season since 2002 with 14 in 23 matches. This year's squad has currently conceded just 14 goals in 22 matches for a .632 goals against average, which ranks second in the PSAC and 24th in the NCAA.

KU's defense is anchored by its two senior All-PSAC selections in First-Teamer Katie Miller (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) and Third-Teamer Cassie Schmidt (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall). Miller has started in all 21 of her appearances – missing just one game – and has recorded two goals, both of which were game-winners, and one assist. Schmidt has made 17 starts in 19 appearances.
 
Those two were joined by Kristina Miller (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) and Dana Wong (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) in the starting lineup last Sunday, with Olivia Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central (Temple)) and Erica Monte Carlo (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) entering as subs to help preserve the shutout. Morgan Staley (Landenberg, Pa./Kennett) was also an integral part of the back-four early in the season before suffering an injury.
 
When opponents have been able to penetrate the backline, the dynamic duo of goalkeepers Imani Taylor (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) and Jenna Bracken (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional) have done their part in helping keep Kutztown's remarkable defensive numbers intact. In earning the shutout to improve to 8-2 last Sunday, Taylor lowered her goals against average to 0.49 to match Casey Behrendt's single-season program record from 2009. Currently second in the PSAC in the category, Taylor is also third in save percentage (.865) and fourth in shutouts (6). Bracken (10-2) also has six shutouts and is fourth in the league with a .750 goals against average and sixth with a .839 save percentage.
 
In addition to its defensive prowess, KU also features an offensive attack that is second in the PSAC and 31st in the NCAA with a scoring average of 2.14 thanks in large part to the trio of Griffith, Maddie Mohr (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown Area) and Alaina Curry (York, Pa./Dallastown Area). All three have scored at least seven goals, which puts them all in the top-10 of the conference.
 
Leading the team with 27 points and 10 goals, Mohr, a First Team All-PSAC selection, is second in the league in points and third in goals. She currently ranks tied for eighth for points in a single-season in program history and is one score away from moving into the top-10 in goals.
 
Also a First Team All-PSAC honoree, Curry is one of the most prolific goal-scorers in Kutztown history as she currently is tied for fourth in program history with 26 career goals. She has scored at least six goals in each of her four seasons, and her seven this year rank tied for tenth in the PSAC.
 
Griffith moved one score ahead of Curry with her goal on Sunday and is now tied for eighth in the PSAC with eight goals. Her five game-winning goals lead the teams, rank second in the conference and are 15th in the NCAA.
 
Freshman Emily Zwiercan (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) is the only other Golden Bear with more than eight points as she has tallied three goals and six assists, the latter of which is tied for fourth in the PSAC.

Ashley Engler (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) and Madison McLelland (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South), who returned on Sunday for her first match in nearly two months, are tied for fourth on the team with Zwiercan with three goals each, while Curry and Monte Carlo are third and fourth on the squad with four and three assists, respectively.
 
Unbeaten through 20 contests, top-seeded West Chester's lone blemish is a tie against East Stroudsburg in the PSAC Semifinals. The Golden Rams would lose that match in penalty kicks, but avenged the result last Sunday, Nov. 13 by defeating the Warriors 2-1 behind a 78th-minute Julia Kirkpatrick goal in its Second Round matchup.  
 
It was a similar scoreline when West Chester visited Kutztown more than two months ago in the team's only matchup on Sept. 13. After the Golden Rams jumped out to a 2-0 first half lead with goals in the 19th and 37th minutes, Mohr attempted to spark a KU comeback when she headed home a Griffith cross in the 54th minute. WCU had the answer just over 10 minutes later though, and the match ended 3-1.
 
West Chester outshot Kutztown 16-5 on the day, including a holding an 11-1 advantage in shots on net.
 
WCU features PSAC Athlete of the Year Scarlett Walsh, whose 1.33 points per match rank second in the conference. She has scored a team-high nine goals in 15 matches - good for sixth in the league – for a team that is ninth in the NCAA with an average of 2.8 goals per match.
 
Joining her as First Team All-PSAC were teammates Kara Parvel (Forward) and Carly Henry (Defense), the latter of which scored her first goal of the season against East Stroudsburg on Sunday. Parvel has scored seven times this year, which is tied with Curry for 10th in the conference.

Lexi Brown was West Chester's fourth representative on the All-PSAC squads, earning Third Team accolades as a forward after scoring four goals and adding a team-high five assists, the latter of which is tied for 7th in the league.
 
WCU goalkeeper Alex Srolis leads the PSAC with eight shutouts and a .372 goals against average and is second with a .865 save percentage. As a team, the Golden Rams are fifth in the NCAA with a .346 goals against average, as they have not allowed a team to score more than one goal against them this season.