West Chester at Bloomsburg
Game Details: October 19 I 2 P.M.
Location: Steph Petit Stadium (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: WCU leads 27-19-9
West Chester Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Bloomsburg Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester saw its October unbeaten streak halted on Saturday afternoon by nationally-ranked Gannon, falling to the 16th-ranked Golden Knights on Rockwell Field by a 2-0 final. West Chester found itself down a pair at the halftime break after Gannon's goals in the 18th and 31st minutes gave the Golden Knights the early advantage. West Chester has its share of opportunities down the stretch, outshooting its guests by a 10-4 margin in the second half and ending the frame with a 2-1 lead in corners, but the Gannon defense, led by five saves from Andre Moraes was equal to the task, handing West Chester its first home loss of the 2024 season.
Flock Talk
West Chester suffered just its third shutout and first home shutout loss of the season last Saturday afternoon but this does not mean that the Golden Ram offense has not been electric throughout the 2024 season. Averaging two goals per game, West Chester is third in the PSAC in scoring average and first in the PSAC East by over half a goal per game, led by Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic), and his five goals, which are tied for fourth best in the PSAC and first in the PSAC East. Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) is tied for sixth in the PSAC and leads the East in assists with five, while fellow Golden Ram Tommy Bodenschatz (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) is second in the East and tied for eighth overall with four helpers of his own. In addition to their assists, Tichy and Bodenschatz are tied with Devven Frey (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson) for third on the team in goals with three each, while Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) is second in goals with four.
In goal, Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) has been the choice of head coach Michael Benn throughout the month, playing to a record of 5-2-1 with a 1.13 goals-against average and four shutouts, while Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School), who earned the win vs Bloomsburg earlier this season is 2-1-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average.
Weekly Honors
West Chester has done well in the PSAC Weekly Awards this year, earning Athlete of the Week honors three times as Komperda, Tichy, and Bodenschatz were all honored, while Howard also earned Defensive Athlete of the Week honors.
That Was Nice
Last Saturday’s game vs Gannon served as Senior Day for the Golden Rams and was West Chester’s final game of a four-game homestand and final Saturday home game of the regular season. West Chester has played seven of its first 12 games on Rockwell Field and will play its eighth and final home game of the year next Wednesday against Shippensburg starting at 2:30 p.m.
Hot Streak
West Chester saw its four-game unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday afternoon by No. 16 Gannon in a 2-0 Senior Day setback on Rockwell Field to conclude the Golden Rams' four-game homestand. Prior to that setback, West Chester had not lost since September 25 at Shippensburg, when the team fell by a 3-0 final. The Golden Rams had outscored their opponents 9-3 over the course of the four-game streak.
Series History
West Chester holds a 27-19-9 lead in the all-time series against Bloomsburg following a 4-2 victory over the Huskies to open PSAC East play in late September.
In the first meeting between the two sides in September, West Chester never trailed, scoring two goals in the first 16 minutes as Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) and Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) scored in the 14th and 16th minutes to give the Golden Rams an early 2-0 lead. Bloomsburg cut the lead in half just before the halftime break, but West Chester responded quickly with two more goals in the 48th and 51st minutes thanks to Tichy and Alex Fedor (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) to make the score 4-1 early in the second half. Bloomsburg continued its comeback bid, cutting the deficit to 4-2 in the 57th minute, but this was as close as West Chester allowed the Huskies to get in the 4-2 triumph.
Taking Shape
Saturday is the beginning of the second half of PSAC East play for West Chester, as the team ended the first half with a mark of 4-1-0 in league action, residing just one point behind Bloomsburg heading into play on Wednesday night. Following the results of Wednesday's games, West Chester is four points back from Bloomsburg with two fewer league games played. In comparison, Millersville is also four points back but is behind West Chester by virtue of the Golden Rams victory on Rockwell earlier this fall.
Scouting Bloomsburg
PSAC East-leading Bloomsburg (9-2-1, 4-1-1) jumped into the top 25 of the United Soccer Coches Division II men’s soccer rankings this week and defended its ranking on Wednesday night with a 1-0 victory over East Stroudsburg thanks to an early second-half goal by Sam Blumberger. Bloomsburg has been on an impressive run since its 4-2 loss at West Chester on September 21, winning each of its last six and outscoring its opponents 12-3 over that span with three shutouts.
Owen Hollobaugh and Patrick Welsh continue to be the top scoring threats for Bloomsburg this season, entering play with three goals each, while Hollobaugh has two assists in addition to his goals for a team-high eight points. Anthony Schlee and Braden Alicea (the older brother of West Chester defender Ian Alicea) are tied for the team lead in assists with three each.
In goal, Brady Rimple leads the way at 8-2-1 with a 0.83 goals-against average and five shutouts, including two in each of his last two games.
