WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester men's soccer team (6-2-3, 3-1-2) returned home on a rainy Saturday afternoon to host rival Bloomsburg (6-1-5, 4-0-3) in a Senior Day battle with significant postseason implications. West Chester erased an early two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against the Huskies through steady rain on Saturday afternoon.
This afternoon's comeback allows West Chester to remain two points up on Bloomsburg while also retaining a head-to-head tiebreak over the Huskies entering the stretch run of the 2023 season.
Prior to the game, West Chester honored its eight-player senior class, which included
Josh Daniels (Fleetwood, Pa./Oley Valley), Brandon Duke (Royersford, Pa./Spring Ford), Daniel Good (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East), Thomas Hanvey (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus), Trevor Looby (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion), Andrew Markopoulos (Drexel Hill, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie), Frankie Taylor (Delran, N.J./Delran), and Landon Wenger (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown).
Bloomsburg got out to an early lead, striking first just 20 minutes into the match when Anthony Schlee took a well-placed feed from Sammy Ames to give the visitors the early 1-0 advantage. Bloomsburg doubled its lead just over four minutes later when Owen Hollbaugh chipped in a goal over a diving Good after a nice pass from the low side of the box from teammate Patrick Walsh moments earlier.
Trailing by a pair in a league game for the first time all season, West Chester began mounting its comeback, cutting the deficit in half just before the halftime break when Markopoulos buried a PK in the 41
st minute before continuing its comeback effort in the second half.
After honoring its eight-player senior class at the halftime break, West Chester came out aggressively to start the second half, and this paid off in the 61
st minute when
Frankie Taylor (Delran, N.J./Delran) finished for his second goal of the season off a great pass from the end line by
Dillon Barbieri (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) to even the score at 2-2.
Both sides continued to generate strong chances down the stretch, but the Golden Ram and Husky defenses stiffened at the right time, leading to the match ending in a 2-2 draw.
The draw seems almost fitting, given how evenly matched the two sides were throughout the afternoon; West Chester and Bloomsburg finished the game tied in shots (10-10), shots on goal (5-5), and corners (5-5), while both Good and his counterpart, Rimple were credited with three saves each.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday afternoon at Shippensburg beginning at 4 p.m.
