West Chester Field Hockey Blanks Mercyhurst

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The Golden Rams' attack was on full display inside Vonnie Gros Field Saturday afternoon, registering seven goals to defeat Mercyhurst, 7-0. The trio of Dayle Paustian (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Rachal Toppi (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro), and Marnie Kusakavitch (Pittston, Pa./Holy Redeemer) recorded two goals apiece. West Chester jumped on Mercyhurst early as Paustian put the Golden Rams on the board at the 4:05 mark. Five minutes later, freshman Maya Gulliksen (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) found midfielder Kaitlin Hatch (Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.) to setup her first goal of the season. Junior forward Rachal Toppi (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro) managed five points today, recording a pair of goals and an assist. Toppi's first goal came courtesy of a penalty stroke, then followed that up with an unassisted goal for her seventh goal of the season. In-between Toppi's goals, Kusakavitch was able to redirect a shot from Toppi to score her first goal of the day at 23:33. The senior midfielder in Paustian managed to add her second of the day right before the half. West Chester's relentless attack posted six first-half goals. Kusakavitch tacked on the last goal of the day in the second half with the assist going to Hatch. Mercyhurst's goalkeeper Sam Takac surrendered seven goals, but did record 23 saves in 70 minutes of action. Goalkeeper Sarah Krause (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) picked up her third win of the season for the Golden Rams, providing two saves in the cage for the shutout victory. West Chester travels to conference rival Millersville on Tuesday for a match beginning at 4 p.m.