EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- The 25
th-ranked West Chester men's soccer team (7-1-1, 4-1-1) scored first on the road on Wednesday night but a pair of goals in a five-minute span late in the second half for East Stroudsburg (4-6, 3-2) allowed the hosts to pull off a 2-1 upset over the visiting Golden Rams.
In the 21
st minute, East Stroudsburg generated one of the first strong scoring chances of the night but
Daniel Good (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) was up to the task, making a nice save to keep the score locked at 0-0.
The score remained locked at 0-0 heading to the halftime break thanks in large part to a strong effort in goal from Good, making seven saves as the Warriors outshot the Golden Rams 10-6 overall in the first half and 7-0 in terms of shots on goal.
Following the halftime break, ESU continued to apply steady pressure to the Golden Ram defense, getting the first corner opportunity from either side just five minutes into the second half, which led to a shot from the top of the box, however, the shot went harmlessly high, rattling off the goalposts of the football uprights behind the net and keeping the score at 0-0.
In the 55
th minute, West Chester got a good look on a scoring chance, with a shot from
Thomas Hanvey (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus) but it was saved by the Warriors keeper to keep the match scoreless.
West Chester broke the ice in the 63
rd minute when
Craig Potts (Stewartstown, Pa./Kennard Dale) climbed the ladder to get his head on the end of a
Gio Jimenez (Turnersville, N.J/Washington Twp.) free kick from just across the midfield line and give West Chester a 1-0 lead late in the contest.
The steady East Stroudsburg pressure eventually paid off in the 73
rd minute when Trevor Paone took a feed from Colby Raymond to notch the equalizer late in the second half. Just a few minutes later, East Stroudsburg scored the go-ahead goal off a rebound in front to take a 2-1 lead in the 78
th minute of play.
In the 88
th minute, West Chester nearly got the equalizer it was looking for when
Jason Goldfeder (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) sent a long kick into the box that was knocked around before being knocked out of play in front of the West Chester bench to keep the score at 2-1 in the road setback.
East Stroudsburg ended the contest with a 22-15 lead in shots and a 15-6 advantage in shots on goal to go along with a 1-0 edge in corners. In goal, Good worked hard throughout the night, making 13 saves while his counterpart, Brayden Evans made five big stops of his own to slow the West Chester offense.
Up Next:
West Chester will have a lengthy layoff until its next contest as the Golden Rams will have 10 days off before returning to action on October 8
th on the road at Lock Haven.
