The Quad

Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: Sports

The West Chester Golden Ram's season ended Sunday on a cold and wet field in Albany, NY.

No. 19 West Chester played a hard fought game against No. 16 Franklin Pierce University, but ultimately lost 1-0 in the quarterfinal round of the Division II Soccer Championship.

Shona Franklin scored in the 40th minute to propel the Lady Ravens.

Ram Goalkeeper Brittany Barnes registered nine saves, but the Ram's offensive attack sputtered out of the game. The Lady Raven's outshot the Lady Ram's 12-2.

With the victory Franklin Pierce moves to the final four round, where West Chester lost last year. Franklin Pierce will take on Seattle Pacific.

This match-up was the third straight year these two clubs played for the right to go to the Women's soccer final four. Franklin Pierce won in 2005, and West Chester got revenge last season earning its first semifinal appearance.

The loss came after a hard fought contest two days earlier when the Lady Rams traveled to a bitter and frosty Albany Academy to take on heavily favored C.W. Post in the third round of the Lady's DII soccer tournament. For the Ram's, it would be a difficult task. C.W. Post dominated Dowling in their only tournament game going into Friday afternoon's contest and were looking to make a statement against West Chester University.

The game went scoreless for all of regulation, the first overtime, and the second overtime. West Chester feared the same end to their season as they saw last year, a loss in the NCAA tournament to Metro State University after regulation. C.W. Post, ranked number No. 7 in women's division II soccer, went into penalty kicks hungry for the win. However, the young Lady Rams would not allow them to have it.

Brittany Yetter was first in the best of five penalty kick format. Yetter has been the go-to player for the Lady Rams. She converted on a penalty kick for the first goal of the game in the PSAC championship. With the pressure on Yetter's back she deposited the goal calmly into the back of the net. C.W. Post also converted on their first attempt so the shootout was locked at 1-1.

Then first-year head coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley made a bold move. She went to her backup goalie, Hilary Smart to take the second kick. Smart had sat on the bench the entire game and had not yet seen action in the NCAA tournament, but Kempf Tonwsley wanted her to take the kick. After sitting well over an hour in temperatures that only a polar bear would be able to tolerate, Smart made Kempf Townsley look brilliant by scoring on the attempt.

Continued...

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