EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- After picking up a crucial win at Shepherd to clinch a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season, the West Chester men's soccer team (10-5-2, 7-3-2) has shifted its attention to the PSAC Tournament and a rematch with East Stroudsburg (8-8-2, 7-3-2) on the road on Tuesday night. West Chester and East Stroudsburg matched up for the second time in the regular season on Wednesday afternoon on Rockwell Field and it was the Warriors who emerged victorious by a 3-0 final to sweep the season series from the Golden Rams.
With a victory on Tuesday night, West Chester would return to the PSAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2019 season when West Chester defeated East Stroudsburg 2-0 on Rockwell before traveling to and falling to Gannon by a 2-1 final in overtime.
The Matchup:
West Chester and East Stroudsburg have been no strangers to one another over the years, engaging in a number of great battles during both regular season and postseason action. East Stroudsburg holds a 46-41-16, although it does bear noting that West Chester has not lost a Tournament game against the Warriors since a 1-0 setback during the 2007 season, currently holding a 3-0-1 lead over ESU in its last four meetings dating back to the 2017 campaign.
In the two meetings between the two rivals this season, East Stroudsburg emerged victorious in each contest thanks to strong second half performances, to lead the Warriors past the Golden Rams. In the first meeting, West Chester scored first, taking an early 1-0 lead before ESU countered with two goals in a 10-minute span to erase the deficit and earn a 2-1 victory. In the most recent contest between the two teams, West Chester welcomed East Stroudsburg to Rockwell Field in a game, which had the feeling of a playoff game for much of the contest. After a scoreless first half, ESU got on the board early in the second half and tacked on a pair of goals late to lift the Warriors to a 3-0 win over the Purple and Gold during the last week of the regular season.
Playing at home or away has been of little consequence for West Chester this season as head coach
Michael Benn's charges have a very similar record in both instances, playing to a mark of 5-2-1 at home while going 5-3-1 in road contests, after closing out the season with a road victory at Shepherd, which halted a four-match road winless streak for the Golden Rams.
Offensively, the veteran trio of
Andrew Markopoulos (Drexel Hill, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie), Craig Potts (Stewartstown, Pa./Kennard Dale) and Shane Hartey (Runnemede, N.J./Triton Hall) have been dangerous for WCU this season, combining for 13 goals and five assists to help lead the offense. Markopoulos enters the Tournament as the team's leading goal scorer with six goals on the year while Potts has four goals of his own to go along with three assists followed by Hartey with three goals and three assists. All told, 15 Golden Rams have found the back of the net this season, accounting for 35 goals on the year. Of those 15 goal scorers, 11 of them have scored at least twice for WCU this season, including
Trevor Looby (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) who has scored three goals of his own and leads the team in game-winning goals with two on the season.
Defensively,
Daniel Good (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) has been the leader between the pipes this season as he has been for much of his career, playing to a record of 8-5-2 with four shutouts and a 1.27 goals against average. Good's four shutouts on the year, which include a recent 1-0 shutout victory over PSAC East Regular Season Champion, Bloomsburg, has moved the redshirt-junior into a tie for first all-time in career shutouts with 17. Additionally, Good's victory over Shepherd on Saturday night gave the keeper his 31
st career win, which is good enough for fourth in program history, passing Garrett Santora (2005-08).
For East Stroudsburg, the Warriors enter play on a two-match winning streak with a record of 8-8-2 overall and a mark of 7-3-2 in league play. A closer look at the Warriors record on the year reveals that the team has enjoyed much more success at home than it has on the road, playing to a mark of 5-3-0 at home compared to a record of just 3-5-2 away from Eiler-Martin Stadium.
East Stroudsburg enters play on Tuesday night following an emotional 1-0 victory over Shippensburg on the final night of the regular season, which came via a successful penalty kick from Bradley Turocy, the second PK opportunity of the match for the Warriors, which set the team up to play at home vs WCU in the Quarterfinals.
ESU enters play with just 20 goals on the season, led by Colby Raymond, Pieter Neerhof, and Ethan Flickinger, who all have three goals to their credit this year. Beyond this dangerous trio, four more Warriors have each scored twice this season with three other players each notching a single goal to help lead the team throughout the 2022 regular season.
On the defensive end of the field, Helgi Hermannsson has been clutch for the Warriors especially down the stretch of the 2022 season, currently riding a three-match shutout streak, which included shutout wins over West Chester and Shippensburg to go along with a 0-0 draw against Millersville. Hermannsson who has not been the starter throughout the entirety of the season but instead has split time with Brayden Evans, has not allowed a goal in a PSAC match, registering complete-match shutouts over the three aforementioned opponents along with shutouts of Lock Haven and Shepherd. With that the freshman keeper, enters play on Tuesday night with a record of 3-2-2 with five shutouts and a 0.67 goals-against-average to go along with a .839 save percentage, both of which are best on the team heading into the postseason.
ESU head coach Rob Berkowitz is in for a busy day on Tuesday, as he will lead his women's team into Rockwell Field for a 1 p.m. start before returning home to lead his second-seeded men's soccer team against the third-seeded Golden Rams inside Eiler-Martin Stadium with that contest set to begin at 6 p.m.
With a Win:
With a victory on Tuesday night, West Chester would set itself up for a PSAC Semifinal battle against PSAC West Regular Season Champion Mercyhurst, at Bloomsburg on Friday afternoon.
