West Chester vs Shippensburg
Game Details: October 23 I 2:30 P.M.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 31-11-6
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
SHIP Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester started the second half of its PSAC East schedule on Saturday afternoon at Bloomsburg. West Chester had the better of the play throughout much of the afternoon, ending the match with a 17-12 lead in shots and a 6-3 lead in shots on goal, but six saves by Brady Rimple and a 71st-minute goal by Alex Wilsterman were enough to lead the Huskies on the one-goal triumph. Rimple and Wilsterman swept PSAC East Athlete of the Week honors for their efforts in this victory, which was the Huskies first win over the Golden Rams since October 2019.
Flock Talk
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic), Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom), Tommy Bodenschatz (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford), and Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) have been a dynamic bunch for West Chester this season, accounting for 15 of the Golden Rams 24 goals on the year. Komperda and Slack lead the way with five and four goals, respectively, while Tichy and Bodenschatz have three each. Komperda (5 G 1 A) and Tichy (3 G 5 A) are tied for the team lead in points with 11 each, while Bodenschatz (3 G 4 A) is third with 10 points, followed by Slack (4 G 1 A) in fourth with nine.
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) appears to have won the starting goalkeeper job after splitting time with Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School) through the season's first month. Howard enters play 5-3-1 on the year with a 1.11 goals-against average and four shutouts to his credit in his nine matches.
The Final Time
Today is the eighth and final home game of the regular season for West Chester men’s soccer. Any additional home games for the Golden Rams will depend upon seeding in the PSAC and NCAA Tournaments when they get underway later in November.
Taking Shape
West Chester saw its regular-season crown aspirations take a slight hit on Saturday afternoon with its setback at Bloomsburg, although the Golden Rams remain in control of second place in the PSAC East standings. At 4-2-0 in league action, West Chester is second in the PSAC East, tied with Millersville for this spot, although the Golden Rams hold an edge by virtue of a win over the Marauders on Rockwell Field earlier this year. Bloomsburg (5-1-1) remains atop the PSAC East standings with 16 points and a season-series split against the Golden Rams. If West Chester is the second seed in the PSAC Tournament, the Golden Rams will host an opening-round quarterfinal on November 11. Should the Golden Rams claim the PSAC Eastern Division title outright for the third time under head coach Michael Benn and the first time since 2018, West Chester would receive a quarterfinal bye and hosting rights for Championship weekend for the first time since 2018.
Series History
West Chester holds a 31-11-6 lead in the series vs Shippensburg, dating back to October 1984. Shippensburg has won two of the last three vs West Chester, although the Raiders have not won two in a row since the 2010 and 2011 seasons. West Chester fell to Shippensburg on Rockwell by a 2-1 final a year ago in what was the team’s first home loss to the Raiders since 2010 and just the fourth time in 23 games (17-4-2) that West Chester has fallen to Shippensburg. The Golden Rams also show a record of 29-7-5 in PSAC regular season games.
Scouting Shippensburg
Since a surprising 3-0 victory over West Chester in late September, Shippensburg has hit tough times, finding itself on a seven-game losing streak, being outscored 14-4 in those seven games, including three shutouts. On Saturday afternoon against Lock Haven, who was realigned to the PSAC West in men’s soccer for this season following the departure of Mercyhurst, Shippensburg halted a 180-minute plus scoreless streak with a 16th-minute goal by Olu Sonubi, which evened the match at 1-1. Tied at 1-1 is how the match stayed for the next 50 minutes, perhaps giving the Raiders hope that their losing streak would end with a tie before they visit South Campus on Wednesday afternoon. Carter Rosno had other ideas, however, scoring the eventual game-winner in the 68th minute, which, with the help of an 18-16 lead in shots and a 7-5 lead in corners, lifted the Bald Eagles to a 2-1 win over the Raiders.
Luca Heusser is first on the team in scoring with six points and is tied with Ashton Davies and Victor Vottero for first on the team in goals with two each. Clay Waterman leads the team in assists with three helpers through 12 games. Following Sonubi’s first goal of the year on Saturday afternoon, Shippensburg has now seen eight players score in 2024, while three more, including Waterman, have recorded a point via an assist.
In goal, Ryan Krumenacker is 2-10-0 on the year with a 2.08 goals-against average and two shutouts, including a clean sheet against West Chester on September 25, his last such performance so far this season.
