After First Loss, WCU Looks To Bounce Back vs. Cheyney

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- For the first time this season, Division II West Chester University is recovering from a loss and they will look to bounce back on Saturday when they host Cheyney University.

The Golden Rams fell to 7-1 last Saturday as they lost on the road to undefeated Bloomsburg, 41-10.

"They jumped out on us and we didn't really fight back very well," West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan tells KYW Newsradio. "Then they kind of got on a roll and we turned the ball six times, which caused a lot of problems, obviously, offensively for us and gave them the ball too many times. We played our worst game, they played a really good game. Bad time to have a bad game, against a really good team and that happens sometimes."

Zwaan says now the big question is how will his team respond to their first loss.

"I think we have a good group of leaders on our team and I'm hoping that they're going to be able to come back from this," Zwaan says. "We've got three games left in the regular season and certainly a good chance to go to the playoffs, if we can win out. So hopefully right now, we're going to react well to the loss."

Listen to West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan with KYW's Matt Leon:

Despite that loss, the Golden Rams are still ranked as high as 15th in Division II and they are 4th in the regional rankings.

It's been another tough year for Cheyney. The Wolves are 0-8 as they come into this game. But they are one of the few teams that run the triple-option on offense and that can cause teams some headaches. Zwaan says the key for his defense will be discipline.

"You've got to stay in your assignment," Zwaan says. "You can't try to do too much. If you've got the dive, tackle the dive. If you have quarterback, make sure you're on him and if you have the pitch, make sure you're there. Of course, you have to defeat blocks to get to those different assignment. But you also can't make a decision that I'm going to give up the dive and go after the quarterback this play. You've got to stay in your assignment."

West Chester has dominated the all-time series between these two schools. The Golden Rams are 45-2-1 against the Wolves. Last season, West Chester beat Cheyney, 66-14.

Saturday's game kicks off at noon.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.

You may also be interested in these Sports stories: