East Stroudsburg Sneaks Past West Chester in Penalty Kicks

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – East Stroudsburg managed to knock off the Golden Rams in the PSAC Semifinals to advance to the PSAC Championship by edging out West Chester on penalty kicks, 3-2, Friday morning. Top-seeded West Chester (18-0-1) captured a tie in the match at Rockwell Field as the scoreboard was locked at one apiece after 110 minutes of action. After a scoreless half, both teams registered a goal of their own to send it into overtime. East Stroudsburg's (14-4-2) Alex Pickett headed a ball past Alex Srolis (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) at the 55:35 mark. Credited with an assist on the play was her teammate Hannah Gombos. The Golden Rams provided a header as well, tying the match at 1-1 at 66:30. Fresh off the PSAC women's soccer athlete of the year award, senior midfielder Scarlett Walsh (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) headed the ball in for her ninth goal of the season. Producing the assist for her second of the tournament to Walsh was senior Carly Henry (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge). West Chester did have its opportunities, considering that they held a 10-5 advantage in the contest. Srolis in-between the pipes made one save, while East Stroudsburg's Jules Harris made five. The pair of goals in the shootout were provided by Cynthia Hagerty (Hockessin, Del./Alexis I. du Pont) and Haley Mangiaruga (North Wales, Pa./North Penn). Harris made a few nice saves on Lexi Brown (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury), Kara Parvel (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), and Henry in order to secure the win in the shootout. The pair of goals in the shootout were provided by Cynthia Hagerty (Hockessin, Del./Alexis I. du Pont) and Haley Mangiaruga (North Wales, Pa./North Penn). This marks the second consecutive season that East Stroudsburg Warriors was able to advance past West Chester on penalty kicks in the tournament. East Stroudsburg will now await the winner of Gannon and Kutztown for the PSAC Championship, which will be held on Sunday, November 6th at 1 p.m.