PITTSBURGH, Pa.- Playing college soccer in December is always the sign of a good season to say the least. When this December soccer is for a National Championship it has a little extra meaning to be sure. This was the case for West Chester (16-2-5) and Barry (15-4-3) who battled through driving rain and cold conditions in the Division II Men's Soccer National Championship game as each school searched for its first Division II National Title in program history. West Chester battled throughout but the Golden Rams fell by a final score of 2-1.
Jason Pixley (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) scored the first goal of the game in the 25
th minute, converting a header off a corner kick from
Brett Miller (Washington Crossing, Pa./Council Rock North) to give West Chester the 1-0 advantage. This goal was Pixley's ninth goal of the season, which allowed him to end the year as the team-leader in goals and tied for the team-lead in points with 19 on the year.
Each side threatened throughout the remainder of the first half but the strong West Chester defense made big plays at the right times to halt any Barry momentum, which allowed the Golden Rams to take a 1-0 lead to the halftime break.
In the opening 20 minutes of the second half, each team threatened through the application of heavy pressure but the defenses were strong successfully clearing opportunity after opportunity, which allowed West Chester to maintain a 1-0 lead.
In the 78
th minute, Barry scored the equalizer on a header of its own as James Kirkham took an assist from Francisco Greco to tie the score at 1-1 with 12 minutes left to play. Barry broke through again five minutes later on a hard, low shot off a free kick into the lower right corner to take a 2-1 lead with six minutes to play.
Barry ended the game with a 20-5 advantage in shots and a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal as well an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks at the end of the match.
Will Marshall (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) (15-2-4) worked hard in goal making three big saves thru the rain although it was not enough as Marshall suffered the 2-1 loss to end the season. Marshall's counterpart Marco Sordi made one big save of his own to slow down the ever-dangerous Golden Ram offense. Marshall ends the year as the Golden Rams single-season wins leader as his 15 victories are the most in the programs single-season history and he finds himself tied atop the list for shutouts in a single season with nine as his career wearing the Purple and Gold draws to a close.
At the end of the game, the 2018 All-Tournament team was announced, and West Chester had three players honored as
Jason Pixley, Kyle Hoops (Phoenixville, Pa./Great Valley) and
Andrew Slater (Hanover, Pa./South West) all earned spots on the team after outstanding performances in the NCAA Tournament and throughout the 2018 season.
Following this game, West Chester drops to 3-0-1 in neutral site games and 8-2-0 in one-goal games. West Chester is also now 13-2-2 in games where the Golden Rams have scored first with the only other loss in this column coming in the month of September when West Chester fell to Bloomsburg by a final score of 2-1.
The Final Word from Coach Benn:
"To begin, I would like to congratulate Barry on the victory and say that they are a fantastic, well-coached program" Stated Benn. I could not be prouder of my guys as they played well and played so hard all-day but sometimes in sports, it is just not your day. This senior class has done so many great things for this program including getting this program to a spot where the University and our alumni can be extremely proud of it. It is always tough to finish a season although I think we can certainly leave with our heads held high" said Benn. "The season was certainly and successful and perhaps the best part, in my opinion, was getting to see the relationships and bonds that our players have with one another. This group is so willing to work hard every day and sacrifice individual glory in order to promote the success of the overall group, which for as a coach I would consider to be a great success. Winning an Atlantic Region Championship and defeating the Defending National Champion (Charleston) was a big step for us as was advancing to the National Semifinals and the National Championship game. I have to give all credit for this accomplishment to our players and how they performed with our seniors serving as a driving force." When asked if he felt this could raise the bar for the program coach Benn stated, "I would certainly like to think so but in college athletics, every semester is a new team. In the spring semester, our seniors will not be around so we will be tasked with finding new leadership roles and incorporating a new group of players come next fall. With that being said what we managed to do this season was pretty special and this is something that we will strive to get to every year going forward."
This defeat brings the Golden Rams historic season to a close with an overall record of 16-3-5, which sets a new program record for wins in a single season.
2018 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Eduardo Faria, Cal Poly Pomona
Nadeer Ghantous, Cal Poly Pomona
Raul Fierro, Fort Hays State
Alonso Rodriguez, Fort Hays State
Kyle Hoops, West Chester
Jason Pixley, West Chester
Andrew Slater, West Chester
James Kirkham, Barry
Marco Sordi, Barry
Francisco Greco, Barry (Most Outstanding Player – Offense)
Stephen Kosmala, Barry (Most Outstanding Player - Defense)
