WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The mission was simple – win and you are in. On the final day of the regular season, West Chester’s men’s soccer squad knew what they had to do, and they left no doubt in the minds of the witnesses at John A. Farrell Stadium on Sunday just who belonged in the postseason.
Freshmen Ricky Williamson and Zac Tassone each registered a hat trick as the Golden Rams romped past visiting Bloomsburg, 8-1, on a sunny but brisk Sunday afternoon to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in the 2007 PSAC postseason tournament this coming week.
“We have a tradition on this team that when you reach the end of the season, you play for the seniors on your team,” West Chester head coach Kendall Walkes said. “With that in mind, the underclassmen wanted the seniors to go out in the best way possible.”
The Golden Rams (11-9-0/9-7-0 PSAC) had their work cut out for them ever since senior Frank DeMas boldly stated that his team would be in the postseason back on Oct. 10. A pair of freshmen made that brash statement hold up on Sunday. West Chester won four of its last five contests to slide past California (Pa.) and Slippery Rock on the final day of the season.
They also received an assist from Millersville, who defeated Slippery Rock yesterday to clinch the third seed in the postseason. That win made it possible for the Rams to catch both Cal and Slippery Rock Sunday.
“We just wanted to start things out with a bang,” Williamson said afterwards. “We were excited that Millersville came through for us, and we just came out focused like it was any other game. We didn’t think it was going to be easy because (Bloomsburg) beat us the first time around.”
Williamson personally made sure things were much easier with three goals in the game’s first 22 minutes that put his teammates up 3-0 right away. He finished with three goals and one assist on the afternoon – all in the first half.
“I knew we could get around them down the sidelines,” Walkes explained. “Our first three goals came from the sides. If we were going to be successful doing that, then I knew we were going to have a good day.”
Bloomsburg (3-15-2/3-12-1 PSAC) finally got on the scoreboard in the 33rd minute on a goal by Christian Rota. However, West Chester answered with two more tallies before halftime to take a 5-1 advantage into the break.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, West Chester continued to apply the pressure and tacked on three more goals over the next 12 minutes. Bryan Nugent tapped in a nice feed from Chris Tucci in the 61st minute to give the hosts a 6-1 lead. Tassone then potted two goals one minute apart to close out the scoring.
Jason Mackel registered a goal and an assist for West Chester in the win.
Garrett Santora picked up the win in goal for the Golden Rams. He played the first 71 minutes and made three saves. Fellow senior Todd Deiter finished up in net, posting three saves over the final 19 minutes.
John Keller stopped five shots for Bloomsburg, allowing all eight goals in the process.
West Chester advances to the PSAC tournament and will travel to top-seeded East Stroudsburg on Halloween for a 4 p.m. showdown in the semifinals. Millersville will travel to second-seeded Lock Haven in the other semifinal.
The Golden Rams are coming off a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in double overtime to the Warriors last Tuesday. Williamson feels that contest, which many of the Golden Rams felt they should have won after having a goal called back with three minutes remaining in regulation, gives his squad all the confidence in they will need.
“We know we can play with East Stroudsburg now,” Williamson offered. “This team has the potential to go far in the postseason.”
