Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Jason Mackel banged in a rebound off a direct kick with 49 seconds left in the first overtime to lift West Chester to a 3-2 win on a very windy, but sunny, Tuesday afternoon in a non-league men’s soccer match.
Wilmington (10-4-1) was whistled for a foul just outside the penalty area in the final minute of the first overtime when Zach Weaver’s direct kick hit the wall set up 10 yards away and the ball deflected to the left right onto Mackel’s foot. His drive beat Wilmington goalkeeper Ethan Kavanaugh’s diving attempt to the far corner for the game-winner.
Mackel also picked up an assist on West Chester’s first goal of the game in the 65th minute. His through pass sent Matt Aunet in on the keeper all alone and a nifty side-step of Kavanaugh left the goal wide open for Aunet.
One minute later, Weaver saved the day for West Chester (8-6-3) when he made a diving kick save of a shot off the foot of Wilmington’s Nickalus McDonald that was ear-marked for the near lower right-hand corner. McDonald juked one Golden Rams defender at the 18-yard line and then dodged WCU’s charging goalkeeper Peter Weiss. Thinking he had the entire net to himself, McDonald tapped the ball towards the goal mouth. However, Weaver came sliding across the goal line and kicked the ball out of bounds to preserve the 1-0 advantage.
Nick Basalyga doubled West Chester’s lead in the 70th minute when he broke in on Kavanaugh and won a 50-50 ball by ricocheting a shot off the keeper. The ball slowly rolled toward the goal line as Kavanaugh desperately scrambled to his feet to chase it down. Kavanaugh slapped the ball away a second late as it had barely crossed over the goal line.
The last 20 minutes of regulation belonged to Wilmington as the Wildcats mounted their two-goal comeback. Sargbah Tarpeh and Socrates Joachim each tallied 12 minutes apart to knot things up and send the tilt into extra time.
Weiss made two saves in the contest to improve to 2-0-2 on the season. Kavanaugh was credited with six saves in the loss. Tarpeh netted a goal and an assist for the Wildcats.
West Chester moved to 3-0-3 in overtime affairs this fall with the win over Wilmington.
The Golden Rams hit the road this weekend to take on second place East Stroudsburg. West Chester needs a victory over the Warriors to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
