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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will travel to Bloomsburg Tuesday for the quarterfinal round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs.
The Rock (12-3-3, 8-3-3 PSAC) secured the No. 5 seed in the eight-team playoff and will face No. 4 Bloomsburg (12-3-3, 10-3-1 PSAC) for the second time this season at Sports Stadium. Kickoff has been set for 2 p.m.
The winner of the SRU-Bloomsburg match will face the winner of the Shippensburg-West Chester match in the semifinals Friday. The semifinals and Saturday's final will take place at the highest remaining seed following Tuesday's quarterfinal round.
The Huskies defeated The Rock in the only meeting between the two teams this year, 2-1, at Sports Stadium Sept. 17. Slippery Rock posted advantages in shots and shots on goal but could not overcome two first half goals from the hosts.
Live statistics will be provided for Tuesday's quarterfinal game, courtesy of the Bloomsburg sports information office. A link to the live statistics feed is available at the top of this page.
The Rock's sports information office will also be sending out live Twitter updates throughout the game. To follow the official SRU Athletics Twitter account, visit the link at the top of this page.
Ticket prices are mandated by the league office at $7 for adults and $2 for students. All students with a valid college ID from a PSAC institution will be admitted free.
Game Notes
Back to the Playoffs: Slippery Rock returns to the playoffs this season after missing a berth last year, which snapped a string of six consecutive appearances from 2003-08. This is the eighth trip to the playoffs for Slippery Rock, all of which have come under the guidance of
Noreen Herlihy. SRU claimed conference titles in 2003 and 2005.
Bloomsburg will be making its 13th appearance in the conference playoffs, including the 10th under head coach Sandy Dickson. The Huskies won PSAC titles in 1996, 1998 and 2002.
The Coaches: Herlihy is in her 16th season at Slippery Rock and owns a career record of 192-92-21. She has produced 15 winning seasons in her 16 years and has won 10 or more games in 13 consecutive seasons. She owns two conference titles and has made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Dickson is in her 13th season at Bloomsburg and owns a career record of 138-86-27. She has led the team to 10 conference playoff appearances, including two PSAC titles and one undefeated regular season. Dickson has also led the team to five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting The Rock: Slippery Rock enters the playoffs with an overall record of 12-3-3 and PSAC mark of 8-3-3. The Rock is unbeaten in its last 11 games, posting a record of 8-0-3 over that stretch and a record of 9-1-3 since suffering a 2-1 loss at Bloomsburg Sept. 17.
The Rock has outshot opponents 302-139 this season and outscored the opposition 31-14.
Shelby Ward and
Ashley Paganie lead the team with 16 points each. Ward has scored a career-high eight goals, while Paganie has six goals and four assists.
Kara Mullins ranks third in scoring with five goals and two assists, followed by
Alison Hindley with three goals and five assists to round out the double-digit scorers. A total of 10 players have scored at least one goal for SRU.
Dana O'Neill has appeared in 12 games with 11 starts in goal this season for SRU and has posted a 7-2-1 record with eight shutouts. She has allowed just six goals for a goals against average of 0.52 and has made 32 saves for a save percentage of .842.
Alli Bird has made seven starts and owns a 4-1-2 record. She has allowed eight goals for a goals against average of 1.09 and has made 23 saves for a save percentage of .742.
Scouting the Huskies: Bloomsburg enters the playoffs with an overall record of 12-3-3 and a PSAC mark of 10-3-1. The Huskies won their final two regular season games after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Kutztown Oct. 23 and are 7-2-1 over their last 10 games.
Bloomsburg is outshooting opponents 262-190 and outscoring the opposition 35-14. The Huskies are led by Katie Walczuk with 13 goals and four assists for 30 points. Tara Huber ranks second in scoring with nine goals and four assists, followed by Natalie Adams with two goals and seven assists to round out the double-digit scorers. A total of seven players have scored at least one goal for BU.
Frances Nicoletti has started all 18 games in goal for the Huskies and has played every minute of the season. She owns a 12-3-3 record with eight shutouts. Nicoletti has allowed 14 goals for a goals against average of 0.77 and has made 93 saves for a save percentage of .869.
Last Meeting: Bloomsburg earned a 2-1 win over The Rock at Sports Stadium Sept. 17. SRU posted advantages of 13-10 in total shots and 9-6 in shots on goal, while both teams were awarded three corner kicks.
Tara Huber and Jamie Vaniver each scored a first half goal for Bloomsburg as the Huskies jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first 25 minutes.
Shelby Ward scored for SRU in the 41st minute, but The Rock could not find the equalizer in the second half.
Dana O'Neill took the loss after recording four saves. Frances Nicoletti earned the win after making eight saves.
Playoff History: The Rock and Bloomsburg have never met in the conference playoffs, but have met twice in the NCAA Tournament, with SRU coming out victorious in the regional semifinals in 2001 (1-0) and 2008 (4-0).
