Gannon University’s women’s soccer team lost 2-1 Thursday to top-seeded West Chester University in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament semifinals at West Chester.
West Chester, ranked second in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region behind Kutztown, will host East Stroudsburg at 1 p.m. Saturday for the PSAC title. East Stroudsburg, the No. 3 tournament seed, upset Kutztown – ranked No. 1 in the region – in Thursday’s other semifinal, 1-0.
The Knights, ranked No. 6 in the Atlantic region, stand 13-4-2 going into the NCAA Division II selection show happening on Monday.
The champions in the PSAC and Mountain East Conference (MEC) receive automatic bids to the tournament and the top four teams remaining receive at-large bids.
Despite totaling eight shots, Gannon was only able to net one goal on West Chester goalkeeper McKenna Mullin.
Neither team was able to score in the first half, but Gannon sophomore Taylor Lewis drew first blood first with a goal at the 54-minute, 13-second mark off an assist from redshirt senior Sarah Kaiser. Lewis landed one in the back right corner of the goal as Mullins missed coming up with a diving save.
The Rams tied the game 1-1 two minutes later with a goal from Jenny Bail off an assist from Hannah Grandell.
Grandell collected a loose ball from a possession from Gannon goalie Danitza Indacochea and passed it to Bail, who put it between the pipes for West Chester’s first goal of the match.
The contest remained tied until the final minutes when the Rams pulled ahead on a goal by Linzi Wolfe at the 86:34 mark. Wolfe put one past a diving Indacochea from the middle of the box off a pass from Claire Jacobs.
The Knights were unable to net the tying goal in the last four minutes and West Chester walked away with a 2-1 home victory.
Indacochea finished with six saves to Mullins’ four as the Knights were outshot 12-8.
Kaiser again played a crucial role for the Knights in creating opportunities for goals. She also is third on the team in goals with five, and tied with Lewis, 2015 graduate Mani Brueckner and Bridget O’Leary (1990) for fifth on the all-time single-season assist mark with eight.
Lewis currently has 36 points this season, which is the fourth most in program history for a single season.
BRANDON JACES
