IUP Crimson Hawks vs. Slippery Rock 'The Rock'  & Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats
IUP Crimson Hawks (3-1-0, 2-1-0 PSAC West)  vs. Slippery Rock 'The Rock' (4-1-0, 3-0-0 PSAC West), University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Mountain Cats (1-4-0, 1-3-0 PSAC West)
 
The Game
Game 5 | Wednesday, Sept. 25, 4 p.m. | IUP at Slippery Rock | James Egli Field | Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
Game 6 | Saturday, Sept. 28, 2 p.m. | IUP at Pitt-Johnstown | Pitt-Johnstown Soccer Fields | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
   
WEEKLY NOTES
 
CRIMSON HAWKS HIT THE ROAD FOR PAIR OF CONFERENCE MATCHES
The IUP women's soccer team (3-1-0, 2-1-0 PSAC West) will hit the road for a pair of PSAC West matches this week against Slippery Rock University, and the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown. The Crimson Hawks will open the week at rival Slippery Rock (4-1-0, 3-0-0 PSAC West) on Wednesday afternoon at James Engli Field at 4:00 p.m. IUP will then travel to Johnstown, Pa. to take on the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Mountain Cats (1-4-0, 1-3-0 PSAC West) on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
 
On the Pitch
>> The Crimson Hawks will be looking to pick up their first away win of the season having fallen to Edinboro 2-1 on their last road trip.
>> The Crimson Hawks head into the week on the back of a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory over the Gannon Lady Knights last Saturday afternoon.
>> IUP will be looking to jump into a first place tie in the PSAC West with Slippery Rock and Edinboro on Wednesday with a victory.
>> Slippery Rock currently has 9 points in the PSAC (tied for first), while Pitt-Johnstown has 3 points so far this year. The Crimson Hawks have collected 6 points thus far.
 

Last Time Out
>> The Crimson Hawks scored a 2-1 upset victory at home last year over Slippery Rock. At the time Slippery Rock was the No. 19 ranked team in the country.
>> Mahogany Willis scored both of IUP's goals in the victory last year.
>> Forward McKenna Keffel assisted Willis's first goal in last year's match between the two teams.
>> The Crimson Hawks defeated Pitt-Johnstown 3-2 in overtime last year in Johnstown, Pa.
>> Mahogany Willis scored the game winning goal in the 96^th minute of overtime in last year's game.  

Series History
>> IUP is 4-4 against Slippery Rock in the last eight meetings between the two sides.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 4-2 against The Rock since 2013.
>> The Crimson Hawks most recently won at Slippery Rock in 2013.
>> IUP is 5-1 against the Mountain Cats in the last 6 meetings between the two teams.
>> The Crimson Hawks have outscored the Mountain Cats 17-5 in those six matches.

The Streak Continues
>> Forward Mahogany Willis continued her remarkable streak of scoring in every match for the Crimson Hawks this season by netting in both matches last week.
>> Willis found the back of the net in the Crimson Hawks defeat to Edinboro last Wednesday before scoring the game winning goal in overtime on Saturday to help IUP top Gannon University 1-0.
>> Willis currently leads the PSAC goal scoring charts with 8 goals so far this year.
>>The Crimson Hawks will face the number two player on those charts on Wednesday. Slippery Rock forward Rachel Edge currently trails Willis by three goals.
>> Willis also leads the league in game-winning goals with 3, and is first in points with 17.
 
Leaving it Late
>> The Crimson Hawks have started to make a habit of scoring goals late in games this season. IUP has scored a goal in the last ten minutes of regulation or later in their last three games this season. The Crimson Hawks scored in the 85^th minute against Cal U, in the 87^th minute against Edinboro, and in the 94^th minute against Gannon.
 
Always a Threat
>> Despite suffering their first defeat of the season last Wednesday to Edinboro, the Crimson Hawks maintained their record of scoring at least one goal in every match so far this year. To date, the Crimson Hawks have not been shutout in any of their matches.
>> The IUP offense currently ranks in the top 10 in the entire PSAC in several key categories including, 7^th in goals with 10 scored, and 7^th in team assists with 7 so far this year.

Stonewall in the Back
>> Goalkeeper Madeline Smakulski ranks seventh in the PSAC in goals against average with a .786 GAA so far this year. She also ranks second in the league with 35 saves, and 4^th in save percentage at .921.
>> The Crimson Hawk defense as a whole currently ranks 7^th in the PSAC in Goals allowed per game. The IUP backline currently allows .75 goals per game.

Coaches
>> IUP: Adel Heder (19th year; 206-123-23)
>> Slippery Rock: Jessica Griggs (5^th year; 49-26-5)
>> Pitt-Johnstown: Vito Addalli (6-17)

Opponents
>> Slippery Rock finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 12-5-2, and a conference record of 10-4-2.
>> Slippery defeated Mercyhurst 2-1 on overtime in their most recent match.
>> The Rock offense is lead by sophomore forward Rachel Edge, who has five goals and 5 assists for a total of 15 points so far this year.
>> Edge currently ranks second in the PSAC in both goals scored and total points behind IUP's Mahogany Willis.
>> The Mountain Cats ended the 2018 season with an overall record of 5-13, and a PSAC record of 4-12.
>> Pitt-Johnstown fell to Seton Hill by a score of 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
>> The Mountain Cats will host Merychurst on Wednesday afternoon before facing the Crimson Hawks on the weekend.
>> The Mountain Cats offense is led by Abby LaDuke, who has 2 goals and 1 assist for 5 total points this season.