CALIFORNIA (Nov. 4) – Junior Janelle McCann (Burlington, Vt./Tilton School) notched a pair of goals on Tuesday afternoon, as the Vulcans earned a 2-1 victory against Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament at the Phillipsburg Soccer Facility.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team improves to 12-3-4 overall. The Vulcans, who are the fourth seed in the tournament, advance to face top-seeded and host East Stroudsburg in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 7. Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Slippery Rock falls to 11-6-1 this season after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2013.

The teams struggled to gain possession in the opening portion of the contest, as the first shot attempt for either team came in the 18th minute. The Vulcans took a 1-0 lead at the 28:41-mark when McCann beat the goalie with a shot in the bottom left corner off an assist from junior Marissa Neifert (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff). Slippery Rock posted its best scoring opportunity in the 40th minute when a shot attempt sailed high of the crossbar.

In the second half, The Rock was unable to convert on back-to-back corner kicks near the 70th minute as goalkeeper Meghan Jayes (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) made a save on a shot attempt from the far side of the box. Jayes later registered a save on a header at the 79:45-mark to preserve the lead. McCann tallied her second goal of the game, 11th of the season, just over two minutes later after beating the Slippery Rock goalkeeper one-on-one. The Rock eventually trimmed the deficit to 2-1 with less than three minutes in regulation when Tess Keeley scored on a header off a cross at the 87:48-mark.

Jayes registered four saves on Tuesday to tally her 10th victory of the season. Slippery Rock goalkeeper Annabelle Hegeman finished with six saves in the losing effort.

Both teams finished with 11 shot attempts, including a combined 13 shots on goal, and The Rock held a narrow 4-3 edge in corner kicks with all four corners in the second half.

The Vulcans snapped a five-game losing streak against The Rock with three of the losses coming in the post-season. Cal U and Slippery Rock have met a combined six times in the PSAC and NCAA Tournament since 2010 (2-3-1).

Cal U will face East Stroudsburg, who is ranked No. 3 in the country, for the second time in less than a week on Friday in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament at 1 p.m. The Warriors cruised to a 5-0 victory over IUP in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.