MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Cooper Jackson (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) scored early, but it was fellow senior captain
Tommy Bodenschatz (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) who buried the eventual winning penalty kick to lift third-seeded West Chester (8-6-4) to a 5-4 PK victory over second-seeded Millersville (9-6-3) in a match that officially ended in a 1-1 draw.
For the third year in a row, West Chester found itself in penalty kicks to determine whether its season would continue in the PSAC Semifinals or come to a close with the Quarterfinal draw. After falling to ESU in PKs in the Quarterfinals in 2022, West Chester improved to 2-0 in PKs PSAC Quarterfinals since, advancing over Bloomsburg by a 4-2 margin last year before advancing 5-4 tonight.
West Chester controlled the game throughout the night, ending the match with an 18-13 lead in shots and a 9-3 lead in corners.
Jackson gave West Chester the early lead just over three minutes in when he found his way onto the end of a
Devven Frey (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson) free kick after
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) was fouled as he dribbled his way toward the box.
West Chester continued to outshoot its hosts as the first half progressed. Heading to the halftime break, the third-seeded Golden Rams controlled possession throughout much of the first half, with a 6-3 lead in shots and a 2-0 lead in corners.
Millersville's best chance of the opening half came in the 22
nd minute when the ever-dangerous Richy Valverde got a shot on net, but it was gobbled up quickly by
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) to keep the match scoreless early.
In the 52
nd minute, Millersville tied the match at 1-1 when Teague Ferry scored his third goal in the last two games against the Golden Rams off an assist from Cody Scully to tie the match.
West Chester nearly retook the lead just moments later off a corner, but a foul was called on the Golden Rams, sending the action back the other way.
In the 74
th minute, West Chester continued to threaten and had a flurry of opportunities, beginning with a corner kick, followed by a blocked shot from Frey and another corner before an
Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) shot was saved by Jake Van Vorhees to end the threat for the moment.
Alicea continued to pepper the former Golden Ram keeper, forcing another save in the 82
nd minute as West Chester pressured the Millersville defense in search of the game-winner.
In the final seconds of regulation, Millersville shot from a long way out, and the chance drilled the crossbar but stayed out of the goal to force overtime in what had quickly become another classic battle between the Golden Rams and Marauders.
Midway through the first overtime,
Jack Dieffenderfer (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) received a pass just outside the 18 and got a good shot off. However, it was blocked on the way and slid wide to keep things locked at 1-1. This deflection led to a corner, but the Golden Rams were unable to convert the corner as play continued for the moment.
Moments later, Dieffenderfer nearly scored on a breakaway, but Van Vorhees got to the spot just in time for a game-saving slide tackle, playing the ball out of danger.
After a scoreless 10 minutes, Ferry got an early chance in the second half of extra time, but his chance went wide right.
With just over two minutes to play, Matias Schmidt tried to bicycle kick home the winner off a long cross, but his chance went wide. The match remained locked at 1-1, forcing PKs to decide the advancing team for the third year in a row.
Frey gave West Chester the early 1-0 lead against his former team, but Valverde matched his tally with his own score to keep things even at 1-1.
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) restored a 2-1 lead for West Chester. Roy Parkyn buried his chance, and Slack matched it with a tally of his own to restore a 3-2 lead before Jake Altimore tied it at 3-3 once more. Alicea stretched the lead back to 4-3 before Haven Thomas scored a PK of his own to tie the match at 4-4. Bodenschatz buried his chance to complete a perfect 5-for-5 run by the Golden Rams, leaving the match on the foot of Michael Dempsey for Millersville. Dempsey pushed his chance over the crossbar to send West Chester back to the PSAC Semifinals and the Golden Ram faithful into a roar.
Howard was sharp in goal once again, making three saves in his postseason debut, while Van Vorhees also made two saves.
Up Next:
West Chester will face the top seed in the PSAC West in Gannon in Bloomsburg on Friday at 3 p.m.
