ERIE, Pa.- For the first time since 2019, the West Chester University men's soccer team () will take the field on Friday afternoon for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) semifinal against top-seed and host Gannon (16-0-2). West Chester begins its trek across the state in preparation for its Friday semifinal against the top-seed Golden Knights, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. in Erie.
Fan Information
Similarly to the Quarterfinals on Monday, tickets are required for Friday's semifinal with prices set at $10 for adults and $5 for students with students from PSAC member institutions with valid, current ID being admitted free of charge. Fans must purchase tickets via this
link.
Fans unable to make the trip to watch the Golden Rams in person can follow the action via
live stats and
live video.
The Matchup
Following a thrilling PK victory over Bloomsburg in the Quarterfinals on Monday night, West Chester finds itself back in the Semifinal round of the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Golden Rams will face off against Gannon on Friday afternoon, marking the first matchup between the two teams since the 2019 PSAC Semifinals at Millersville. West Chester fell by a 2-1 final in overtime in this matchup, halting a two-game winning streak for the Golden Rams and giving the Golden Knights a slight 3-2-0 edge in the last five meetings. Dating back to 2008, West Chester and Gannon have played a host of close games over the years, entering Friday's semifinal with the all-time series split at 5-5-1, with only one of those 11 meetings being decided by more than one goal (a 3-0 victory in 2013 at home for the Golden Rams). The 2019 matchup between West Chester and Gannon also marked the first time since the 2016 season that both sides scored, as the previous two meetings had both been 1-0 victories in favor of the Golden Rams.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters the Semifinals after an exciting Quarterfinal clash against second-seed Bloomsburg on Monday night. On Monday evening at Bloomsburg, the two sides battled over 110 minutes, both teams generating strong scoring chances in the final moments, but
Daniel Good (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) and his counterpart, Brady Rimple, were up to the task, sending things to PKs locked at 0-0. After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, West Chester jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in PKs and used this early advantage to earn a 4-2 PK victory over the Huskies after Good made a diving stop, and
Ryan Jammes (Aldie, Va./John Champe) buried his PK to send the Golden Ram faithful into jubilation and the Golden Rams through to the Semifinals.
West Chester was well represented on the All-PSAC East squad on Tuesday afternoon as five Golden Rams were honored by the league's coaches.
Andrew Markopoulos (Drexel Hill, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie), Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), and Good earned First Team honors, while
Jack Dieffenderfer (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg), and Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) secured second-team honors. Good continued his historic career in 2023, setting new program records for wins (41) and shutouts (26) while also moving into fifth all-time in shutouts in PSAC history after his most recent clean sheet on Monday evening. Dieffenderfer, Markopoulos, and Slack rank in the top three on the team in scoring as Dieffenderfer and Markopoulos both have 12 points on the year, while Slack has eight of his own. Markopoulos is the team's leading goal scorer with six, Dieffenderfer has five goals and two assists, and Slack has a pair of goals and four assists to his credit. Alicea, the final Golden Ram honored, joined Markopoulos on the backline in 2023 and turned in a tremendous freshman season, helping stymie opposing offenses throughout the year while also scoring a goal of his own in a victory over Shippensburg earlier this season.
KNOWING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon enters play on Friday afternoon following a week-long break, earning a bye into the PSAC Semifinals by virtue of its PSAC West Regular Season crown. The Golden Knights concluded the regular season with a dominant 10-0 victory over Pitt-Johnstown last Friday afternoon. Gannon enters the PSAC Tournament ranked seventh in DII men's soccer, riding a four-game winning streak, which has seen the Golden Knights outscore their opponents 19-1, posting a shutout in three of those four games.
Gannon swept the PSAC West end-of-season awards for the second time in the last four seasons as Tinashe Katsande earned Offensive Player of the Year honors, Pau Ferrer was voted Defensive Player of the Year, Rafa Hyde earned Freshman of the Year honors, and Billy Colton was named Coach of the Year.
Katsande enters the PSAC Tournament as the team's leading scorer, scoring 17 goals and assisting 10 others, while Ferrer has seven goals and 15 assists to his credit, ranking third on the team in scoring with 15 points. James Pool is second on the team in scoring, finishing the regular season with 16 goals and five assists to help Katsande lead the high-powered Golden Knight offense. As a unit, Gannon has scored 68 goals this season thanks to the work of 12 players, with Katsande, Pool, and Ferrer accounting for 40 of those 68 tallies.
While stopping the Golden Knight offense is a tall task itself, scoring against Gannon has not proved much more straightforward for opponents this year, as Gannon enters the Tournament a 0.83 goals-against average and seven shutouts on the year. Samuel Alarcon has been the primary keeper for Gannon this year, playing to a record of 14-0-2 with a 0.90 goals-against average and six shutouts. Alarcon's understudy, Mateo Lite, has also been effective in goal this year for Gannon, playing to a record of 2-0 with a shutout of his own in 219 minutes of action, holding opponents to a 0.41 goals-against average over that span.
WITH A WIN
With a victory on Friday afternoon, West Chester would hand Gannon its first loss of the 2023 season and return to the PSAC Championship game for the first time since 2018. Should West Chester advance to the Title game, the Golden Rams would square off against the winner of Millersville/Seton Hill in what may prove to be a rematch of a memorable 2018 Championship game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
