The Quad

Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Sports

After winning in convincing form to open the 2nd Annual Vonnie Gros Classic against the Monmouth Hawks, the Lady Rams fell to No.2 ranked North Carolina on Sunday 9-0. West Chester's record moves to 3-2 on the year while the Tar Heels improve to 6-0.

The score remained close at halftime with the Tar Heels enjoying a 2-0 lead. However, North Carolina was able to work its way through the Ram's tough defense and managed to find the goal seven more times in the second half to cruise to victory.

West Chester goalie Joelle Zarefoss had a career high 13 shots saved on the day but the power of the Tar Heels offense was too much for the defense to handle as eight different Heels were able to find the net.

"We did a good job containing their talent in the first half but the reality was their depth and talent was too much for us to overcome," Head Coach Kathy Krannebitter said following their game. "Our team played hard the entire game and I was proud of that. We did not give up. We have fight more as a team, and that is very encouraging."

The Lady Rams headed to Penn State on Friday and faced another challenge, playing the No. 7 team in the country. Zarefoss was solid in goal recording eight saves, but Penn State's offense got rolling as three different players were able to score to beat the Rams 5-0.

The Penn State game makes this the second time in one week the Lady Rams faced two top ranked teams in Division I field hockey. Playing top teams such as Penn State and North Carolina is great exposure for the team, the athletic department and the University.

"I told my team that last Sunday, they faced a great team. After dealing with that, we can deal with just about anything," Krannebitter said.

Krannebitter is in her 22nd year as the head coach of her alma mater and enjoys playing top competition.

The Golden Rams will return to action on Wednesday as they host Towson at 4 p.m.

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