Late Goals Lift IUP Past Clarion

Brittany Pikur and Laurie Nebiker scored goals in the final five minutes to break a 1-1 tie and give IUP a 3-1 win over Clarion in a PSAC West contest Tuesday afternoon.

The game was the home finale for IUP, which concludes its regular season Thursday at Bloomsburg.  The Indians begin play in the PSAC tournament next week.

IUP (17-3, 7-3 PSAC West) dominated the action, outshooting the Golden Eagles by a margin of 23-5 but was locked in a tie for most of the second half before the two late goals.

Erin Falce gave IUP a 1-0 lead 14 minutes into the game off an assist by Crystal Heder.  The goal was the 42nd of Falce's career, breaking a tie with Amy Peterson for the top spot in school history.  Falce later added an assist to reach the 100-point plateau.

Clarion (1-15-1, 0-9-1 PSAC West) evened matters with eight minutes remaining before halftime on a goal by Kaylie Tuznik.

That proved to be the last scoring until Pikur gave IUP the lead at the 85 minute mark, with Falce getting the assist.  Nebiker tallied an insurance goal with just 30 seconds left.  Emily Thomas assisted on the Nebiker goal.

Sarah Daw went the distance in goal for IUP and made three saves.  C.J. Gattens stopped 12 shots for Clarion.

After the Bloomsburg game on Thursday, IUP will begin PSAC tournament play on Tuesday at Lock Haven at a time that has not yet been determined.  The Indians are seeded third in the West while the Lady Eagles are second.

Slippery Rock clinched the top spot in the West and a first round bye by defeating California, 3-0, on Tuesday.  The winner of the IUP-Lock Haven game will play at Slippery Rock in the PSAC semifinals on November 5.

The championship game will be played at the home of the highest remaining West seed on November 7.