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Semifinal vs. Slippery Rock: Live Stats

EAST STROUDSBURG - Defending PSAC women's soccer champion East Stroudsburg University will continue its pursuit of the 2015 championship with a semifinal match-up vs. Slippery Rock on Friday at 11 a.m. at Gannon University in Erie.

ESU (9-6-2), the No. 7 seed, upended No. 2 seed West Chester 4-3 on penalty kicks after scoreless tie on Tuesday afternoon. The Warriors were the only lower seed to advance to the semifinals.

Slippery Rock (13-5-1), the No. 3 seed, edged Shippensburg 1-0 (2OT) in the quarterfinals.

In the other semifinal, No. 1 seed Gannon (18-1) hosts No. 4 Edinboro (13-6). Gannon posted a 3-1 win vs. Bloomsburg, and Edinboro won 1-0 vs. Kutztown.

The championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m.

ESU is attempting to become the third school to repeat as PSAC champions, joining Lock Haven (1999-01) and most recently West Chester (2006-07, 2009-10).

ESU and Slippery Rock tied, 2-2 (2OT), in their first meeting this season on October 10 at Eiler-Martin Stadium. Junior midfielder Shea Neal and junior forward Brielyn Hackett scored as the Warriors recovered from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1.

ESU is in the PSAC semifinals for the fifth time in nine seasons under head coach Rob Berkowitz, the 2014 PSAC Coach of the Year. ESU won its third PSAC championship in program history last fall as part of a record-setting 20-1-1 season, which included a school record 20-game winning streak.

ESU's three PSAC championships (1994, 1997, 2014) are tied for the second-most in conference history. The Warriors are in the semifinals for the ninth time in the 22 years the PSAC has sponsored a women's soccer championship.

Slippery Rock has also won three PSAC championships (2003, 2005, 2012) and is in the tournament for the 12th time in 13 years.

Gannon is in for the seventh time in eight years as a member of the PSAC. The Golden Knights have reached the semifinals for the second time (also 2013) and are attempting to become the fifth No. 1 seed to win in the last six seasons, including ESU last year.

Edinboro qualified for the PSAC Tournament for the sixth straight season and has made recent semifinal appearances in 2011 and 2012.

Neal, sophomore midfielder Sammi Ortiz and junior back Laurel Neira were named to the All-PSAC second team on Wednesday. Neal is a three-time All-PSAC selection, earning first team recognition in each of her first two years, and Neira repeats on the second team. Ortiz was mentioned for the first time.

ESU sophomore goalkeeper Jules Harris was second team All-PSAC as a freshman and was one of the standouts as ESU advanced on Tuesday at West Chester. She made seven saves in the first 110 minutes, and had two stops on penalty kicks as the Warriors survived, 4-3, in six rounds.

Seven Warriors were starters on last year's PSAC championship team in Neal, Neira, Ortiz, Harris, senior forward Sammi Jo Hughes, senior midfielder Syrandin Deere Vester and junior back Hannah Gombos.

Neal leads the Warriors with seven goals and three assists, giving her 20 goals and nine assists in 56 career starts.

She is joined in the midfield by Deere Vester and Ortiz, the same partnership as the 2014 PSAC championship group.

Deere Vester is a three-year starter and made her 50th career start on Tuesday. She has five career goals, including two this season.

Ortiz has started all 39 games in her career and has two goals and three assists. She converted a must-have penalty kick in the fifth round of the shootout at West Chester.

At forward, Hughes is a four-year starter (73 starts) with 21 career goals and 11 assists, including six goals and two assists this fall.

Hughes and Neal are the first ESU teammates with 20+ career goals since Karen Hansen (36) and Jenn Russo (35) in 1996.

Hackett has made 13 starts and contributed four goals after scoring a team-high eight goals as the Warriors' top sub on last year's PSAC championship team.

Freshman Alex Pickett has moved into the starting lineup at forward in the second half of the season and has one goal and one assist.

Across the back, Neira teams with junior Andrea Polanco at center back, with Gombos on the right side and freshman Kyra Dubost on the left.

Neira has made 54 career starts and has added eight career goals, including six last season. Polanco is in her first year as a starter after seeing most of her action as a backup defensive midfielder as a sophomore.

Gombos has made 49 career starts, playing mostly at forward the last two years. She started nine games at right back last season and has made 15 starts there this year. She has five career goals and seven assists.

Dubost has started the last 16 games at left back and has two assists.

Harris has made 32 career starts, including 15 of ESU's 17 games this season. She has a 1.18 goals against average, an 8-5-2 record and four shutouts (three solo).

Harris had nine shutouts (eight solo) on last year's PSAC championship team, going 16-1 with a 0.54 goals against average. She has a career record of 24-6-2 with 14 shutouts (12 solo), 132 saves and a 0.84 gaa in 32 starts.

Other key contributors this season have included freshman forward Cristina Babyak (15 games, 4 starts - 1 assist), sophomore forward Molly Vicari (14 games - 1 goal, 1 assist), sophomore forward Kendall Galvin (10 games, 4 starts - 2 goals), junior forward Liia Carpenter (8 games, 2 starts - 1 goal, 1 assist) and junior back Kelly Howiszak (9 games, 2 starts).

Slippery Rock

ESU is 9-10-3 in its all-time series vs. Slippery Rock, including a 3-0 loss (at California) in the 2012 PSAC semifinals. The Rock are 10-3-3 in the series since 1999.

They are represented by six players on the All-PSAC team - two on the first team (forward Dara Demich, midfielder Caitlin Binder), two on the second team (back Lynn Neef, back Sam Thornton) and two on the third team (forward Tess Keeley, midfielder Allison Harbart).

Gannon

ESU knocked off the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Golden Knights, 4-2, on October 30 to earn their PSAC Tournament bid. The Warriors are 5-1-1 in the all-time series with one meeting in the PSAC Tournament, advancing to the semifinals on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie at Gannon in 2012.

Midfielder Mani Brueckner is the PSAC Offensive Athlete of the Year for the third time in four seasons, and back Olivia Augustyniak is the PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Year. They lead seven All-PSAC selections, along with forward Sammy Valloud (1st team), forward Michelle Genetin (2nd team), midfielder Katie Kissell (2nd team), goalkeeper Shannon Differ (2nd team) and back Sidney Morgan (3rd team).

Edinboro

ESU fell 2-1 at Edinboro on Oct. 24 on a 77th minute goal by Jansen Hartmann, who was named to the All-PSAC first team along with midfielder Halle Hammer. Three Fighting Scots were named to the third team in forward Ashley Mutkus and backs Abby Gillespie and Shannon Regan.

Edinboro holds a 9-7-1 edge in the all-time series and has won six of the last seven meetings. The two schools have never met in the PSAC Tournament.