West Chester field hockey rolls to NCAA semifinal berth

Valerie Van Kuijck scored a goal and assisted on another as West Chester advanced to the national semifinals following a 4-1 win over Adelphi at Vonnie Gros Field Saturday afternoon.

West Chester will face Assumption in the NCAA Division II Field Hockey semifinals on Friday, Nov. 19 at Millersville’s Biemesderfer Stadium. East Stroudsburg defeated Bentley, 2-1, in the other quarterfinal and will join West Chester in the semifinals. The Warriors will play Shippensburg in the other matchup on Friday.

“We have a really young group,” West Chester head coach Amy Cohen said. “You always want that opportunity to defend a title, but that is a lot of pressure that this group has been under all year long. Now, this is fun. To see them come together at the end of the year like this has been fantastic.”

The day started cold, windy and rainy with neither side gaining much momentum. However, the host Golden Rams finally broke through in the 28th minute to take a 1-0 into the break. That’s when the clouds parted, the rain stopped and the sun peaked through the gloomy weather. West Chester responded with goals in the 33rd and 37th minute to take a commanding 3-0 lead heading in to the final quarter.

Football

INDIANA PA. 31, WEST CHESTER 21 » Indiana (Pa.) scored the go-ahead touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game to come from behind and defeat host West Chester, 31-24, Saturday in a non-league regular-season finale at John A. Farrell Stadium.

Dayjure Stewart plunged through the line from two yards out for the winning score. IUP got the scoring opportunity when Tyrone Fowler Jr., strip-sacked West Chester QB Shane Dooley at the WCU 14 and the Crimson Hawks jumped on it with 1:01 to play.

IUP (7-3) scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 14-point deficit and storm all the way back for the win in the season finale for both. The Golden Rams finished the 2021 campaign at 6-5.

Ja’Den McKenzie rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns while Dooley was 14 of 24 for 302 yards and one interception before the fateful fumble. Rasheem James caught six passes for 115 yards in the loss.

Men’s Basketball

WEST CHESTER 85, ELIZABETH CITY STATE 71 » Kyle McGee’s career-high 19 points led five players in double figures as the West Chester men’s basketball squad opened the 202122 campaign with an 8571 victory over Elizabeth City State University in the PSAC/CIAA Challenge inside Keystone Arena Friday afternoon.

West Chester (1-0) broke open a close contest with a 13-3 run midway through the first half that gave the Golden Rams a double-digit lead. West Chester outscored Elizabeth City State (0-1) by seven the rest of the half to take a 56-39 advantage into the locker rooms.

Malik Slay (Downingtown East) tied his career high with seven assists in the contest.Jamil Manigo put up 15 points in his first college game, and Matt Dade scored 13 points, including nine from the charity stripe. He hit 9 of 12 from the foul line in the game. Josh Samec added 11 points and six rebounds while Robert Smith contributed 10 off the bench.