PSAC Final: Sunday, 1 p.m. at West Chester
No. 4 ESU vs. No. 2 Kutztown   |   Live Stats  |  Live Video

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Related: Polanco named PSAC Champion Scholar


WEST CHESTER, Pa. – For the second-straight PSAC tournament meeting between East Stroudsburg University and West Chester, penalty kicks were required to determine who advanced on to the next round.

Once again, junior goalkeeper Jules Harris and the rest of the Warriors came up big in the clutch.

Harris stopped three out of five Golden Ram penalty attempts, while sophomore midfielder Holly Nicolardi, sophomore back Danielle Curran and sophomore back Kyra Dubost converted penalties as ESU advanced to the PSAC championship game 3-2 on PKs after playing to a 1-1 draw in regulation.

The Warriors (14-4-2) will look for a third-straight conference title at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon against No. 2 Kutztown, which defeated No. 6 Gannon 2-0 in the other semifinal. The Golden Rams (18-0-1), who entered as the tournament's No. 1 seed and are currently third No. 3 in the NSCAA Division II poll, saw their 18-game winning streak come to an end.

Both regulation goals were scored in the second half, as sophomore forward Alex Pickett opened up the scoring in the 56th minute and West Chester's Scarlett Walsh equalized in the 67th minute.

Harris, the 2016 PSAC Women's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Year, made five saves to ensure that the game would continue on to penalty kicks. The shootout was tied 2-2 after three rounds. Harris made a key stop to open up the fourth round, and after Dubost converted from the spot Harris made another save in goal to seal ESU's advancement.

The Warriors improve to 3-2 lifetime in shootouts, with victories in each of their past three shootouts in the PSAC tournament.

Each side managed three shots apiece in the opening half. The Golden Rams had the best opportunity to score, but Harris tipped away a high curling effort from Walsh to keep the game scoreless.

The intensity grew after the intermission, with both teams firing attempts inches away from the post in a span of less than a minute. ESU senior midfielder Shea Neal directed a header just wide of the goal in the 53rd minute, and West Chester's Linzi Wolfe sent a low liner wide left 40 seconds later.

Pickett's opener came off a free kick just outside of the box. Senior back Hannah Gombos took the spot kick, and Pickett drilled a header past goalkeeper Alex Srolis for her 14th goal of the season. She has 17 points during the past four games (7 G, 3 A) and has scored in eight of her last 10 appearances for the Warriors.

Gombos' assist was her team and PSAC-leading 10th of the season. She becomes only the second ESU player to reach double-digit assists since 1996 (Amanda Vojta had a program-record 16 in 2014).

Walsh's marker also came on a header, as the Golden Rams' leading scorer guided the ball into the right corner for her team-leading ninth goal.

ESU was held without a shot after Pickett's strike, and West Chester had a 10-5 advantage in shots for the game, but Harris and the rest of the Warrior defense kept the contest tied at 1-1 heading into PKs.

ESU will now look to become the second team in PSAC history to win three-consecutive women's soccer championships (Lock Haven, 1999-01), and the first to win five PSAC titles overall. Sunday will be a rematch of the 2014 PSAC final, which ESU won 1-0 on a 78th minute goal by Neal.

The Warriors defeated the Golden Bears (17-3) by a 1-0 final when the teams met in the regular season on Oct. 5, backed by two saves from Harris and a 21st minute marker by Pickett.

The winner of Sunday's contest will receive the PSAC's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The full NCAA field will be revealed on Monday at 6 p.m. on ncaa.com.

Game Notes:

* ESU advanced 4-3 on PKs against West Chester in the PSAC quarterfinals last year after the team's played to a 0-0 draw in regulation. The Warriors would go on to win both the PSAC championship and the program's first-ever Atlantic Region title.

* ESU is the 4th school to advance to 3 straight PSAC championship games:
Bloomsburg - 1994-96, 2000-02
Lock Haven - 1999-01
California - 2010-13 (4 straight)
ESU - 2014-16