Lady Bobcats advance in NCAA Tournament with another win in PKs

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The goalie combo of Chelsea Hubner and Ashlee Schumacher combined for another shutout after 110 minutes of soccer on Friday, propelling the sixth-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats to a win in PKs over third-seeded Kutztown in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

The Lady Bobcats advanced to the next round after winning the shootout 4-1.

The win was the second straight game that went to penalty kicks for Wesleyan; they also defeated Concord in dramatic fashion on Sunday to win the Mountain East Conference championship.

Kutztown (14-4-2) controlled play for much of the match and outshot Wesleyan (13-1-5) 19-4 over the course of the contest. Emily Zwiercan led the effort with five shots, with Alyssa Ryan adding four for the Golden Bears.

But as they have all season, the Lady Bobcat defense and keeper combo turned in a stellar performance, bending but not breaking throughout regulation and both overtime periods.

Shannon Shawgo and Marissa Zetty tallied shots on goal for the LBC.

Kutztown’s Alyssa Ryan connected on her penalty kick to open the best-of-five shootout.  The next three were saved by Hubner, while Natalie Pireu, Natalie Prater, Carolyn Saulle and Orian Bar all converting their attempts, allowing Wesleyan to advance.

Hubner made five saves with Ashlee Schumacher notching four saves in goal.

West Virginia Wesleyan will battle second-seeded West Chester on Sunday at noon.

Story by the Mountain East Conference.