WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester men's soccer team (0-1) kicked off its 2022 season at home on Thursday afternoon vs Jefferson (1-0) and despite scoring first, West Chester fell by a final score of 2-1 in its home opener.
After applying steady pressure through the early stages of the first half, West Chester found the back of the net after
Thomas Hanvey (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus) got on the other end of a corner from
Kendall Walkes (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) to give the Golden Rams a 1-0 lead with just under 10 minutes gone in the first half.
In the 41
st minute, West Chester nearly doubled its lead when
AJ Peev (Chalfont, Pa./C.B. South) took a cross from
Trevor Looby (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) but his shot rung off the crossbar to keep the score locked at 1-0.
In the 43
rd minute, Jefferson converted on the steady pressure it had started applying to the Golden Ram defense in the later stages of the opening half when Mateo Infante buried a shot from the top of the box off a rebound to even the score at 1-1 nearing the halftime break.
In the final seconds of the first half, West Chester had a good look as Looby took a late shot but it proved to be harmless as the score remained locked at 1-1 heading to the halftime break.
In the opening half, West Chester held a 9-5 advantage in shots, including a 3-2 edge in shots on goal along with a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks heading into the second half.
Out of the halftime break, Jefferson applied immediate pressure and this eventually paid dividends in the 61
st minute when Theophilus Ijeboi finished a cross from Infante in front of the West Chester goal to give Jefferson a 2-1 lead, which they would hold on to win by.
West Chester ended the game with a 17-9 advantage in shots and a 9-3 lead in corner kicks but it was not enough to avoid the upset.
Daniel Good (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) made two saves to keep West Chester in the contest throughout but the Jefferson goalkeeper proved to be up to the steep task of keeping the Golden Ram offense at bay.
West Chester will return to action on Saturday afternoon for its first road game of the year when the Purple and Gold visit Holy Family to continue non-league action with a 12 p.m. start.
