Team News - 2015 Season Review - Overall

What a roller coaster season. The 2015 campaign opened with a Thursday night whipping by Lenoir-Rhyne at home then followed by a heartbreaking, late-game loss at Mercyhurst in Erie. It was really not unexpected from such a young team that was still finding its way. The Golden Rams then executed as they should have the next three weeks, thrashing Seton Hill, Millersville and Lock Haven, three teams that combined for seven wins in 2015. Sitting at 2-1 in the PSAC East, Kutztown was the first real test as the Golden Bears were also 2-0 in the division. West Chester provided an all-around convincing 44-14 win, thus offering fans a glimpse of what this team could actually be.

West Chester cheerleaders supported the team all season (Photo Bert Garbutt)

But as convincing as the Kutztown win was, it didn't appear the team mentally traveled to Shippensburg the following week in a loss that was not as close as the final 27-11 score. The ups and downs of the season continued with a sound homecoming victory over rival Bloomsburg. The loss of focus at Cheyney the next week was not reflected in the standings as West Chester went on to grab a victory.

Captains Andrew Cohen, Brandon Pepper, Brandon Monk and Tim Brown provided leadership throughout the season (Photo Bert Garbutt)

There was a lot riding on the last week of divisional play as the Golden Rams hosted East Stroudsburg while Shippensburg visited Kutztown. Going into that Saturday, West Chester and Shippensburg were tied atop the division at 5-1, but the Raiders held the tiebreaker due to the head-to-head outcome. West Chester forced five turnovers in defeating the Warriors while Kutztown handled Shippensburg from start to finish. At the end of the day, the Golden Rams claimed their first outright PSAC East Championship since back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008.

Head Coach Bill Zwaan had his 11th winning campaign in 13 seasons
at West Chester University (Photo Bert Garbutt)

Unfortunately, Slippery Rock, which went on to advance to the NCAA Division II Super Region I finals, showed why they were the class of the PSAC in 2015 with a 61-12 flogging of the Golden Rams in the PSAC Championship game at Farrell Stadium. It was West Chester's worst lost under head coach Bill Zwaan at West Chester.

The Golden Rams reached the PSAC championship game
for the first time since 2008 (Photo Ron Hockman)

But after starting 0-2, it was a great accomplishment for this team to win the division and finish the season 7-4.