Overtime loss ends remarkable season and era for West Chester women

Saturday afternoon wasn’t the ending Victoria Pungello and her fellow seniors had dreamed of when they first suited up for the Golden Rams in 2022 but the game had many of the features that made the four-year ride such an unforgettable one both personally and for the program.

“Your dream is to end in the national championship, but for me going down two goals early and then the excitement and the grit of coming back in that excitement, I’ll forever be proud of that.”

Pungello, a senior from Jackson, N.J., made her 81st appearance for the Rams in the game and it was her service that helped the hosts make a game of it against a Franklin Pierce side that was too good to be denied even after going down a player in the first half. Pungello placed a corner kick on a plate for rookie center back Katie Dougherty to attack and head into the back of the net just before halftime.

“It was just so satisfying,” Pungello said of the goal, Dougherty’s second off her 18th career assist. “I think Katie’s been such a strong player coming in as a freshman, learning the team super fast, and she just really deserved that goal.”

Fellow senior Faith Matter was instrumental in creating the equalizer in the 56th minute with a crafty first time hit in front of the goal off another well placed crossing ball, this time from the game-winning goal scorer last weekend, Kate Alexander. The goal was Matter’s 37th and 78th goal contribution of her career.

Pungello, Matter and stalwart outside back Jacqueline Graham were all a big part of the team that made it all the way to the 2022 national final and it was their leadership that was instrumental in getting the team two games away from a return visit. Defender Olivia Conroy was a reserve player on the team in 2022 but a regular starter ever since while Mia Amen has played a reserved role all four years.

“The seniors were the driving force to get us here, and the leadership that we had in them this year was incredible,” said head coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley. “To even be here and win our regional title and do so well in the PSAC was something special for them.”

Though Matter’s production will be nearly impossible to replace and the leadership torch will be passed, Saturday’s loss is hardly an end to the success of one of the area’s most consistent soccer programs. The Golden Rams were the only team to host a national quarterfinal this season and were the last team left playing. A core of younger players that includes leading goal scorer Kianna Barber, PSAC rookie of the year Dougherty and all-conference performers Grace Keen, Carley Slavin and Lauren Reimold will all be back. A total of 35 goals out of their 52 were scored this season by non-seniors.

“This experience is really good for younger players to see where this goes and the energy and the vibrations that come out of going this far in the NCAA tournament, and no one can take that away from them,” Kempf Townsley said. “When they come back after the offseason to start to train, they’re going to have that in their mind. And I think that’s what’s been really great about our program, and why we get to this place a lot of times is because of the opportunities of kids being here before, and they know what that tastes like.”