Special to the Local NewsSHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- Kianna Barber scored the game-winner off an assist from Kate Alexander to lift the West Chester University women’s soccer team (16-2-4) to a 1-0 victory over top-seed Shepherd (12-2-6) on Sunday afternoon in the Atlantic Regional Championship game.
“I’m so, so proud of this team and all that they’ve accomplished,” said an ecstatic coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley. “This whole group works so hard and pushes each other to be their best every single day. We’ve had some adversity with injuries and other issues, but we’ve kept fighting all season. This team just never gives up, and I’m so proud of them.”
For West Chester, this is the Golden Rams’ second Atlantic Regional Championship in the last four years, in their third championship game appearance, the seventh under Kempf Townsley, and the eighth in program history.
“I’m so proud of this team,” said an excited Alexander. “We work so hard day in and day out, and all season we’ve wanted to get back to this game and get it done, so for that to happen feels incredible.”
“Today was a little bit of a revenge match for us,” acknowledged Barber. “We didn’t like losing to them at home in the PSAC Semifinals and knew that we had the talent to beat them if we could see them again.”
The first half was played primarily in the midfield as the Golden Rams’ forwards had a few runs into Shepherd territory, but the Ram backline was able to manage these chances easily enough to keep things scoreless through the first 10 minutes.
Shepherd began to increase its time of possession in the remainder of the first half, but this possession did not result in many shots as the Golden Rams held a 6-5 advantage in shots at the half.
Perhaps the best chance of the half for either side came just seconds before the halftime horn when West Chester connected multiple passes in and around the 18, eventually leading to a shot on goal by Barber that Hannah Wilt was able to punch away to keep the match scoreless.
This save was one of the first half stops for Wilt, while Grace Keen (Avon Grove) was not called upon to make a save in the first 45 minutes.
It did not take long for Keen to be called upon in the second half, however, as Josie Beezel took a shot on goal in the 49th minute, which was saved by a lunging Keen for the first of a six-shot flurry by the Rams in the first 11 minutes. Keen made two saves in this sequence before making her third of the day in the 59th minute on a shot by Adrianna Morales, who had found her way up from the back after a foul.
Beezel saw another chance sail over the crossbar in the 61st minute before West Chester took its first shots of the second half in the 63rd with a pair of chances from Faith Matter and Alexander.
After these shots, West Chester stiffened defensively with a tremendous effort by its back four of Jacqueline Graham, Olivia Conroy, Katie Dougherty (Downingtown West) and Carley Slavin, steadily infuriating the Shepherd offense.
“What a brilliant effort all around,” said Kempf Townsley when asked about her defense, which neutralized one of the top offenses in Division II women’s soccer in the last few weeks. “That whole group was absolutely amazing today. Grace made some great saves, and the back four was stellar. Carley (Slavin) did a great job stepping in and winning some big balls for us. Olivia (Conroy) did a great job on Josie, and Jax (Jacqueline Graham) was great following them around inside. Katie (Dougherty) was amazing as well; she did a great job covering up any mistakes we made, making things really difficult for Shepherd. I just can’t be more proud of the effort from this group today.”
Asked about the overall defensive effort, Keen said, “I thought our communication today was great. We did an outstanding job of talking through the back and in the midfield all day to slow a great offensive team like Shepherd.”
With the match tied in the 81st minute, Anaya Lozano, who entered the week as Shepherd’s leading scorer, was forced to try a shot from distance, but it also went high. West Chester brought the ball back the other way and won a pair of corners in the 83rd and 84th minutes, but neither corner led to the eventual game-winner.
In the 85th minute, Alexander made a defender miss and carried the ball down the flank, taking a shot that was initially punched away but hit the crossbar and came back down on the goal line. Barber, who had followed the shot from Alexander, came crashing in as the ball was on its way to the turf and finished the goal to give West Chester a 1-0 lead.
“When Kate (Alexander) took on her girl and beat her, I got excited knowing it would be a great chance to score. When I saw the keeper make a mistake, I got even more excited because I realized I’d have the chance to score a pretty easy goal, and that’s exactly what I did,” explained Barber. That goal was the culmination of a lot of great effort for us throughout the match.
“That whole sequence was just electric, honestly,” said Alexander when asked about the game-winning goal. “I carried the ball down and just crossed it in, not even knowing if she was there, but she got there and finished for a great goal.”
“We talk a lot about following shots and getting chances off of that. This was a perfect example of following a shot and it paying off in a big way. Timing was truly everything on that goal,” acknowledged Kempf Townsley.
Lydia Gable and Reagan Ackerman both took shots in the 87th and 89th minutes, but Keen was at her best when it mattered most, saving both chances to seal the championship.
Shepherd ended the match with a 17-10 lead in shots, although shots on goal were even at 5-5. West Chester did manage to end the match with a 5-2 lead in corners.
All told, Keen made five saves in the victory, while her counterpart, Hannah Wilt, made four stops of her own to keep the Rams in the match throughout the afternoon.
“I’ve been working really hard on my own to try and be at my best right now,” acknowledged Keen when asked about her saves in the second half. “I think days like this come with a lot of repetition and getting that muscle memory, so I’ve been trying to work as hard as I can not only in training but on my own outside of practice.”
Up Next
West Chester will advance to the National Quarterfinals and will take on Franklin Pierce next Saturday afternoon for a spot in the National Semifinals in Colorado Springs in mid-December.
The game is expected to be played in West Chester, as the Atlantic Region Champion is slated to host in 2025. Interestingly enough, Saturday’s meeting will be the first meeting between the Golden Rams and Ravens since the 2022 National Quarterfinal when West Chester punched its ticket to the National Semifinals for the first time since 2006.
Source: Berkshire mont