WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following an impressive 3-0 win over Millersville on Wednesday night, the West Chester University men's soccer team (7-2-1, 4-1-0 PSAC) returned home to hots Lock Haven (2-4-3, 0-3-2) in another big PSAC East matchup on Saturday afternoon. West Chester found itself tied at the half after trading goals with Lock Haven in the 43
rd minute but scored a pair of goals in the second half to pull away for a 3-1 victory over the Bald Eagles.
Jack Dieffender (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) continued his strong stretch of play off the bench for West Chester on Saturday, scoring his third goal of the week with a beautiful goal late in the first half, which tied the score at 1-1.
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) and
Dillon Barbieri (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) provided the offensive firepower in the second half, notching goals in the 52
nd and 70
th minutes, respectively, to help lead the Golden Rams to the 3-1 victory on Rockwell on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester controlled the game throughout much of the afternoon, ending the match with a 16-6 lead in shots, including a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal to go along with a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
After a relatively quiet start to the first half, Lock Haven opened the scoring in the 43
rd minute with a perfectly placed shot from the wing off the foot of Jimmy Pombor, giving the visitors an early 1-0 advantage.
This lead was short-lived as West Chester answered back just seconds later thanks to a one-timer by Dieffenderfer off an assist by
Josh Daniels (Fleetwood, Pa./Oley Valley) to even the score at 1-1 heading into the halftime break.
Slack gave West Chester its first lead of the game in the 52
nd minute off a free kick from just above the 18. The Golden Rams nearly doubled their lead moments later when
Frankie Taylor (Delran, N.J./Delran) nearly converted a dangerous ball into the box off another Slack free kick, but the shot went just wide to keep the score at 2-1 in favor of the Golden Rams.
In the 70
th minute, West Chester got the third goal it had been threatening to record for much of the half when Barbieri hit a loose ball at the top of the box off a cross from
Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom), extending the lead to 3-1.
The Golden Rams nearly added another moments later as Tichy attempted to run down a long ball into the box, but Lock Haven keeper Brady Freiwald did well to run it down and halt the West Chester attack.
As the game neared its 80
th minute, Lock Haven applied heavy pressure, getting a deep free kick and a pair of corners, but a diving header chance by the Bald Eagles went wide, keeping the score locked at 3-1 in favor of the Golden Rams.
In the waning moments of regulation, West Chester continued its strong defensive showing, limiting the Bald Eagles chances to close out the 3-1 victory.
Between the pipes, Freiwald stayed busy throughout the afternoon for Lock Haven, finishing with seven saves, while
Daniel Good (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) made a pair of saves of his own to help the Golden Rams earn another crucial PSAC East victory.
Up Next:
West Chester will have a week to prepare for its next matchup, a road test at East Stroudsburg next Saturday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m.
