NCAA Semifinal Full Replay
PITTSBURGH, Pa.- Fighting for a berth in the National Championship Game on Saturday afternoon, the West Chester University men's soccer team (16-2-5) squared off against West Coast opponent Cal Poly Pomona (17-7-0) on a cold November afternoon.
Jason Pixley (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) scored yet another game-winning goal to lift West Chester to the 2-1 overtime victory, thus, advancing West Chester to its first Division II National Championship Game in program history.
In the first half of play, each side applied pressure, but strong defensive play particularly from goalkeeper
Will Marshall (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) who made a pair of huge saves to keep the game tied at 0-0.
The Broncos opened the scoring in the 56th minute, when Eduardo Faria took an assist from Omar Green to give Cal Poly Pomona the 1-0 lead. However, West Chester was far from finished as the Golden Rams answered back when
Eric Greer (Chadds Ford, Pa.) scored the his first career collegiate goal in the 61st minute, which eventually forced overtime.
Pixley's game winner came in the 95th minute off an assist from
Daniel Grindrod (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) to send West Chester to its first Division II men's soccer National Championship Game.
Marshall had a huge day in goal making five big saves while his counterpart Jakob Hansen made three saves of his own in the loss.
Cal Poly Pomona ended the contest with a 15-10 edge in overall shots. But, West Chester held a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal and a crucial 2-1 advantage on the scoreboard at the end of the goal. Cal Poly Pomona also ended the contest with a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.
A word from Coach Benn:
"I am really proud of our guys and how they continued to fight throughout the game," said WCU head coach
Michael Benn. "Cal Poly Pomona is a very good team. But, we never buckled, and despite facing a lot of adversity, we just kept battling and came out on top. The entire team played very well, and (Will) Marshall was huge in goal with Pixley coming through in the clutch as he has throughout the season."
West Chester will now turn its attention to Barry in the Division II National Championship Game on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m.
