Box Score ERIE, Pa. – Freshman goalkeeper
Matt Palmer (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) made 11 saves, including a pair of saves in the final three minutes, to help visiting West Chester preserve a 2-1 upset over 12th-ranked Mercyhurst in a PSAC men's soccer match Friday afternoon.
Â
West Chester (3-2, 1-0 PSAC) opened up conference play with a win on the road over the preseason unanimous choice to win the conference in Mercyhurst (4-2, 0-1). It also avenges the only loss the Golden Rams suffered to a league opponent in 2013. The Lakers took the regular-season meeting at Rockwell Field, 3-1, and then captured a 3-0 victory in the semifinals of the conference tournament on its home field.
Â
Tommy Ryan (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newtown) scored on a direct kick in the 70th minute to double West Chester's lead at 2-0. That tally proved to be critical when Mercyhurst's All-American forward, Fernando Martinez, cut that lead in half three minutes later.
Â
Brett Glasco (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) broke a scoreless tie in the 59th minute when he banged home a rebound of a shot by
Alex Lean (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) that gave the Golden Rams a 1-0 advantage.
Â
Palmer (2-1), making his third start of the season, was impressive all afternoon in keeping the Lakers' high-powered offense off the scoresheet. His 11 stops were the most by a Golden Rams' keeper in a game all season.
Â
"(Palmer) was terrific today. He played great," second-year head coach Michael Benn commented afterwards. "We just thought that (Palmer) was better on crosses, and Mercyhurst is a team that likes to get the ball wide and serve it into the area. He was able to get to those crosses, or at least, alter the path, so that they could not get a touch on it.
Â
"Mercyhurst is a very good team that throws so many numbers at you. We did a good job staying organized and keeping our shape."
Â
West Chester continues its weekend road trip with another PSAC tilt against Gannon University in Erie on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
