WEST GOSHEN >> The top-ranked West Chester field hockey squad entered Tuesday’s final non-conference tune-up having outscored its first five opponents 33-2.
The Golden Rams went on to remain perfect with a 4-1 triumph over visiting Indiana (Pa.) at Vonnie Gros Field, but it wasn’t easy and WCU faced a scheme that it is sure to see plenty of times this fall: a packed-in defense.
“We’ve played two games so far where our opponent have just dropped everyone back (in the defensive zone),” said head coach Amy Cohen. “We have to learn to play against that.”
Deadlocked at 1-1 at the half, West Chester made some adjustments during the intermission and wound up outscoring the eighth-ranked Crimson Hawks 3-0 in the final 30 minutes. And afterwards, the Rams (6-0 overall) sure sounding interested in seeing how the squad responded to the season’s first real battle.
“It’s nice to play a PSAC opponent, and (IUP) is much improved from last season. You can certainly learn some things playing in competitive games,” Cohen said.
“In a game like this we can see where our weaknesses are and where we can improve,” added sophomore goaltender Megan Gula. “You could see some of the cracks we have, but I think we did better in the second half.”
West Chester will open the PSAC slate against unbeaten Kutztown on Saturday. The next time WCU faces IUP on Oct. 8, it will be a conference clash on the road. The Hawks fall to 3-1 overall.
“(IUP) is definitely the best team we’ve played so far. It was really a test,” said senior forward Claudia Jaszczak (Downingtown West), who scored two goals on Tuesday.
The Rams were in attack mode at the start, peppering IUP keeper Amanda Zaner with eight shots on goal in the opening five minutes of action. But the ninth, off the stick of Jaszczak on a pass from teammate Sophie Morrison, finally opened the scoring at the 9:45 mark.
But then, less than a minute later, the Hawks evened the score on a shot by Spring City’s Rory Cahill. It was the first goal allowed by Gula (Avon Grove) in 188 minutes of action. And even though WCU had the edge in shots of the goal (11-1) and corners (5-1), the score remained through the first half.
“We are a very speedy team and we weren’t up to that fully in the first half,” Gula said. “Once we picked that up, we had more opportunities.”
Downingtown East’s Paige Wolke notched what ended up the game-winner when she chipped a pass from Adriana Palumbo just under the crossbar midway through the third. And then a few minutes later, Jaszczak notched her second tally off a corner. Teammate Valerie Van Kuijck had the assist.
“We knew what to do. We’ve been working as a team to stretch the field. We picked it up in the second half,” Jaszczak said.
“We are actually a very young team,” Cohen added. “We needed halftime to talk about it, so I am super proud of the way we adjusted and fixed some things in the second half.
“When (an opponent) drops back like that defensively, you just want to play to your strengths, and we are extremely fast all over the field. (At the half) we talked about creating corners, which we did, and we were finally able to get some goals.”
Sophomore Olivia Quagliero rounded out the scoring with a goal in the fourth. For the match, West Chester had a clear advantage in shots on goal (19-2) and corners (10-2).
“Everybody on this team wants to see each other succeed and everybody wants to win,” Jaszczak said.
“We are fast, athletic and hard-working, which is a little different from our teams in the past,” Cohen added. “We’ve always been very skilled, but to mix skill with hard work makes us a very threatening team this season.
“I am very excited for this team’s future this season.”
West Chester 4, Indiana (Pa.) 1
Indiana (Pa.) 1 0 0 0 – 1
West Chester 1 0 2 1 – 4
Indiana (Pa.) goal: Cahill.
West Chester goals: Jaszczak 2, Wolfe, Quagliero.
Goalie saves: Zaner (IUP) 15; Gula (WCU) 1.