The Quad

Issue date: 12/8/08 Section: Sports

West Chester University has been a consistently dominant force in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference since its introduction into the NCAA in 1951, and the fall 2008 campaign was no exception.

Four total West Chester teams moved into postseason play this year, either in the PSAC playoffs, the NCAA tournament, or both.

Golden Ram football is the most popular sport here at West Chester. Fans flock to the games to show their school spirit and pride. Once again this year, the purple and gold proved their supremacy on the gridiron, making not only far into the PSAC's, but into the NCAA II tournament as well.

West Chester started off the season with a tough game against defending champion California University, a game which most thought would be this year's championship match up. The Rams fell in the first game of the season, but were able to come back from it strong.

The team finished out the regular season with only one more loss, that coming at the hands of Division I Delaware. The Golden Rams, with their defeat of Bloomsburg in the final game of the season, earned a bid for the PSAC championship, against California.

Once again though, Cal proved too tough, and triumphed to earn the PSAC crown.

This was not the end for the Golden Rams though, as they earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA II tournament. In their first game there, West Chester won big over Southern Connecticut, moving on to the second round against division rival and No. 1 seed Bloomsburg University.

Although West Chester beat the Huskies in their regular season meeting, they were unable to pull it off twice, falling by a touchdown and bringing an end to their season. The Golden Ram football season was a huge success though, filled with domination, excitement, highlights, and broken records.

The women's soccer team was another team that impressed in many ways this season. Right off the bat, the team won their first seven games of the season (six by shutouts), and went their first 12 games without a loss until falling to College of St. Rose.

By the end of the regular season, the Lady Rams had accumulated an undefeated record in conference play, and went into the PSAC playoffs as the No. 1 seed. They won in the quarterfinals of the tournament against Kutztown, but fell to Mercyhurst in the semifinal's in a tough game. Like the football team though, this was not the end.

The WCU women's soccer team had also earned a bid in the NCAA II tournament. Ranked No. 14, West Chester first took on East Stroudsburg, who they rolled over 3-2. Next in line for the Lady Rams was No. 17 Mercyhurst. In their third meeting of the year, Mercyhurst won for the second time, and again knocked West Chester out of contention for a championship. The women's soccer team should not be ashamed of their performance though, as they qualified for the National tournament for the sixth year in a row and displayed pure domination in the conference.

Continued...

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