Tickets
Championship Central
BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- With the 2023 regular season now complete, the West Chester University men's soccer team (10-4-3, 7-3-2) can entirely shift its attention to the postseason as the PSAC Tournament kicks off on Monday evening with the third-seeded Golden Rams visiting second-seed Bloomsburg (10-3-4, 7-2-3) for a 5 p.m. kick.
A YEAR AGO
West Chester is in nearly identical circumstances from a year ago, entering the PSAC Tournament as the third seed following a setback in the final home game of the regular season vs East Stroudsburg. A season ago, West Chester traveled to East Stroudsburg and battled to a 1-1 draw vs the Warriors before falling by a final of 4-3 in PKs, which brought the 2022 season to a conclusion.
THE FIELD
In the Eastern Division, Millersville claimed the Eastern Division crown once again, closing the year on a seven-game winning streak, allowing just two goals during this streak. Bloomsburg, whom West Chester ended the season with a record of 1-0-1 against, claimed the second seed by just one point over West Chester, who finished as the third seed after falling on the final day of the regular season.
Gannon claimed the top seed in the Western Division after completing an unbeaten regular season with a 10-0 victory over Pitt-Johnstown on Friday afternoon. Mercyhurst, whom West Chester traveled to Erie to battle earlier this season, claimed the second seed, while Seton Hill was the third and final team to make the field.
Fan Information:
Ticketing: Fans are reminded that the 2023 PSAC Men's Soccer Tournament is
cashless, and all tickets
must be purchased online via this
link. Adult ticket prices are set at $10 while students will be $5, with students from PSAC member institutions with valid, current ID being admitted free of charge.
The Matchup:
West Chester and Bloomsburg are certainly not strangers to one another, as Monday night's clash will be the 51
st meeting between the two rivals, with WCU leading the series by a 26-19-8 margin. In 2023, West Chester and Bloomsburg met twice, and it was West Chester who ended the regular season with a slight edge in the series, earning a late 1-0 victory over Bloomsburg on the road in the first meeting before storming back in the second half to earn a draw against the Huskies in the second meeting between the two squads on Rockwell Field in Mid October. Monday's meeting between West Chester and Bloomsburg carries a bit of extra special meaning for both sides as the two teams are ranked eighth and ninth, respectively in the second of three NCAA DII Men's Soccer Regional Rankings. The 10-team Super Region One field will be announced as part of the DII Men's Soccer Selection Show on Monday, November 13 as West Chester looks for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2019 season.
Offensively, West Chester has proved particularly dangerous this season because of its offensive versatility. Entering the postseason, 13 different Golden Rams have found the back of the net, led by the trio of
Jack Dieffenderfer (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg), Andrew Markopoulos (Drexel Hill, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie), and Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic). Markopoulos has the team lead in goals with six on the year, with three of those six goals coming from the spot. Dieffenderfer, who has enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, including his two-goal effort on the road at Millersville earlier this season, which handed the Marauders their lone Eastern Division loss of the season, is tied with the senior captain for the lead in points, entering the postseason with five goals and two assists on the year. Komperda has enjoyed a breakout freshman season as well, entering the postseason with four goals, including tallies in each of the Golden Rams last two games entering the postseason. 2022 All-League selection
Frankie Taylor (Delran, N.J./Delran) has also enjoyed another strong season in 2023, scoring three goals on the year and assisting on another to rank fourth on the team in points with seven.
Josh Daniels (Fleetwood, Pa./Oley Valley) and
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) enter the postseason tied for the team lead in assists with four each. Slack also has a pair of goals to his credit, the winners against Holy Family and Lock Haven on Rockwell Field, allowing him to rank in a tie for third on the team in points with eight.
Defensively,
Daniel Good (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) will be looking for a PSAC Tournament run to help cap what has already proved to be a legendary career for the veteran keeper. In 2023, Good has played to a record of 10-4-3 with a 0.94 goals-against average and eight shutouts, which helped the senior break the WCU career win and shutout records earlier this season while also moving into a tie for fifth in career shutouts in PSAC history. While Good has been exceptional in goal this season, the senior has also benefited from a strong unit in front of him, anchored by Markopoulos and freshman
Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland). The duo of Markopoulos and Alicea have been difficult for opponents to manage this year, while
Cooper Jackson (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) and
Phil Udo-Inyang (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) have also done a tremendous job defensively for West Chester in 2023.
For Bloomsburg, the trio of Owen Hollobaugh, Anthony Schlee, and Alex Wilsterman have been dangerous for opponents this year, as they lead the Huskies in scoring with 11 (4 G, 3 A), 11 (5 G, 1 A), and 10 (4 G, 2 A) points, respectively. All told, 11 different Bloomsburg players have found the back of the net this season, with eight of those 11 scoring at least twice to help lead a dangerous Husky offense, which ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 31 goals on the year.
Defensively, Brady Rimple has played the majority of the time in goal, logging over 1400 minutes played on the season with a record of 9-3-4 and a goals-against average of 1.00 on the year. Rimple, who played the entirety of both games vs West Chester this season, has also posted five shutouts on the year, entering the postseason with a .724 save percentage. Bloomsburg has lost just two league games so far this year, entering the Tournament with a record of 7-2-3 against PSAC East opponents, with West Chester and Millersville being the lone two teams to beat the Huskies this season, winning each game by a slim 1-0 margin.
With a Win:
With a victory over Bloomsburg, West Chester will advance back to the PSAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2019 season, when the Golden Rams fell to Gannon by a 2-1 final in overtime at Pucillo Field on the campus of Millersville University. Should the Golden Rams return to the semifinals, West Chester would face off against top-seeded Gannon in the nightcap on Friday with kickoff set for 6 p.m. in Erie.
