SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock was able to beat itself at the end of the first half. It was unable to beat Mother Nature at the end of the game.

Ryan Daniel's 48-yard field goal attempt was pushed wide left by the wind with 43 seconds remaining Saturday at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium, preserving West Chester's 21-20 college football victory over The Rock.

The victory propelled the Golden Rams (8-3) into the NCAA Division IIplayoffs for the third consecutive season and denied SRU(7-4) consideration for its first postseason berth since 1999.

"The distance, the height, the direction, it was all there,"SRU coach George Mihalik said of Daniel's kick. "Something steered it wide."

That something was a swirling wind that picked up in intensity in the second half.

"That ball looked like it was going to go straight through,"West Chester coach Bill Zwaan admitted. "We caught a break on that one."

"That kid's got a good leg and he was kicking it well all day,"West Chester linebacker Lateef Ferguson said. "It was windy, it was rainy ... I guess Mother Nature was on our side."

West Chester opted to not attempt a field goal on three separate fourth-down opportunities in the first half, all well within kicker Alex Walsh's range.

"The wind was tricky all day,"Swaan said. "Besides, we choose to live dangerously at times. Sometimes it works out for us. Sometimes it doesn't."

It did on this day.

The Golden Rams' first score was set up by a punt snap that sailed over Kyle Witman's head. The Rock punter retrieved the ball, but was nailed for a 33-yard loss at the SRU 23-yard line.

Moments later, West Chester faced a fourth-and-goal from the 18. Coach Zwaan opted to go for the touchdown and the pass fell incomplete in the end zone — but The Rock was flagged for pass interference as the receiver stumbled across the goal line.

"The official said he was pushed as he ran into the end zone and that's why he fell,"Mihalik said.

Brett Steinmetz scored on a 3-yard run on the next play and West Chester had a 7-0 lead.

SRUregained control, however, as runs of 30 and 22 yards by A.J. Saunders highlighted an 81-yard drive that ended with Nate Crookshank's 9-yard touchdown pass to Terry Grossetti. That scored followed a 25-yard Daniel field goal on The Rock's previous possession.

With 1:25 left in the half, West Chester took possession at its own 23-yard line and drove downfield, facing a fourth-and-1 at the SRU15 with 13 seconds left.

Walsh was sent out to attempt a 32-yard field goal. After The Rock called timeout to freeze the kicker, West Chester sent its offensive unit back on the field.

"My son (quarterback Bill Zwaan Jr.) talked me into going for it," Zwaan said.

Washington out-leaped cornerback Anthony Walls in the left corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score.

"We knew they were going to throw the fade pass to Washington," Mihalik said. "We had the play defensed. Anthony just timed his jump a little too soon."

With seven seconds left, West Chester squibbed its kickoff downfield. The ball deflected off Walls at the 15 and rolled into the end zone. He retrieved the football, saw two West Chester players coming at him and tried to run out of the end zone.

Walls fumbled the ball as he was hit and West Chester's Brett Paterson fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with no time left on the clock.

"He (Walls) told me afterward he thought he had to run the ball out of there,"Crookshank said.

"He was confused. All he had to do was take a knee,"Mihalik said.

At halftime, the skies darkened, the rain intensified and the wind picked up.

"Our guys could have figured it was over at that point,"Mihalik admitted.

Instead, The Rock defense shut out the PSAC's top-scoring offense in the second half. Zwann Jr. entered the game having thrown five interceptions all year. Brandon Rakszawski, Jim D'Amico, Sam Morant and Walls picked him off Saturday — three of the interceptions coming on successive passes in the second half.

A 97-yard drive — highlightted by a 47-yard Saunders run — was finished off by an 8-yard Luke Wetzel touchdown catch with 1:03 left in the third quarter.

Trailing 21-17, The Rock faced a fourth-and-5 from the Rams' 24-yard line with 3:41 remaining and opted for a 42-yard field goal by Daniel.

"We had enough time left to get the ball back and win with another field goal,"Mihalik said. "They weren't doing anything on offense"

Coach Zwaan agreed.

"We had to try to throw against the wind because we couldn't just run the ball against that defense,"he said. "That's the best defensive front we've seen all year."

A 21-yard scramble by Crookshank on a third-and-10 play set up Daniel's final field goal attempt.

"The only consolation I have is that I believe we were the better team," Mihalik said. "Anytime your final game means something, you've had a great season.

"But we gave this one away."

Notes: Saunders, a redshirt freshman, had a career-high 135 yards rushing. ... Crookshank finished the season with 2,080 yards passing.West Chester 21, SRU20

West Chester 7 14 0 0—21Slippery Rock 0 10 7 3—20WC SRU16 First Downs 1542-125 Rushes-Yards 32-168213 Passing Yards 13115-26-4 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 15-30-1338 Total Yards 2990-0 Fumbles/Lost 2-28-89 Penalties-Yards 4-40

First QuarterWC — Brent Steinmetz 3 run (Alex Walsh kick), :48

Second QuarterSRU— Ryan Daniel 25 field goal, 9:04SRU— Terry Grossetti 9 pass from Nate Crookshank (Daniel kick), 1:25WC— Mike Washington 15 pass from Bill Zwaan (Walsh kick), :08WC— Brett Paterson recovered fumble in end zone (Walsh kick), :00

Third Quarter SRU— Luke Wetzel 8 pass from Crookshank (Daniel kick), 1:03

Fourth QuarterSRU— Daniel 42 field goal, 3:41

Individual Statistics

Passing: West Chester, Bill Zwaan 13-23-179-4, Matt Burdalski 2-2-34-0. SRU, Nate Crookshank 15-30-131-1.

Rushing: West Chester, Brent Steinmetz 25-98, Brandon Hargrose 7-52, Dean Millard 4-6, Team 1-0, Mike Washington 3-(-14), Bill Zwaan 2-(-17). SRU, A.J. Saunders 16-135, Travis Sarver 11-46, Nate Crookshank 3-17, Justin Guadagni 1-3, Team 1-(-33).

Receiving: West Chester, Mike Washington 5-96, Eric Ruffenach 4-68, Brett Steinmetz 4-28, Steven Miller 1-13, Pat McDermott 1-8. SRU, Luke Wetzel 6-75, Terry Grossetti 3-21, Colin Golden 2-16, Paul Favers 2-12, Ross Hornish 2-7.