West Chester vs Southern Connecticut State (SCSU)
Game Details: Saturday, September 14th I 4 P.M.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Game Links: Live Stats I Watch
Series: First Meeting
West Chester Links: News I Roster I Schedule I Stats
SCSU Links: News I Roster I Schedule I Stats
Last Time Out
West Chester enters off an exciting 4-2 road victory over Wilmington on Wednesday afternoon, marking the Golden Rams first win over Wilmington since 2010. West Chester jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the first half when Christian Vorchheimer (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) scored off an assist from Jason Goldfeder (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff). Tommy Bodenschatz (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) doubled the lead in the 57th minute before Wilmington cut the lead back to one with its first goal in the 69th. The visiting Golden Rams tacked on two more goals in the 78th and 81st minutes, thanks to Frankie Taylor (Delran, N.J./Delran) and Devven Frey (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson), which proved crucial as the Wildcats cut the lead to 4-2 with a PK in the 82nd minute. Wilmington pressed and searched for another goal in the final nine minutes of play. Still, it was for naught as Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School) was strong in goal, making five saves to earn his first collegiate victory and help West Chester move to 2-0-1 on the year.
That’s Called a Winning Streak
West Chester is currently in the midst of a two-game winning streak and is looking to stretch its season-opening unbeaten streak to four in a row this afternoon. A year ago, West Chester opened the year on a six-game unbeaten streak, including a season-long three-game winning streak with wins over UDC, Shepherd, and Bloomsburg before falling in a shocker to Shippensburg on September 20.
We Are Honored
Komperda became the first West Chester student-athlete to earn PSAC East Athlete of the Week honors this year after scoring a goal in both games a week ago for the Golden Rams.
My Turn
West Chester has employed a two-goalkeeper system to great success so far this year as Amantidis and fellow sophomore Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) have split time in goal. Amanatidis started the first game vs. Jefferson and the Wilmington game and shows a record of 1-0-1 with a 1.50 goals-against average. At the same time, Howard got the starting nod vs. Holy Family and made three saves to pick up a shutout victory over the Tigers.
A Versatile Bunch
While West Chester is versatile between the pipes, the Golden Rams have also shown versatility offensively early this season, as eight different Golden Rams have scored goals so far. Komperda and Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) lead the way with two each. At the same time, Bodenschatz, Taylor, Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom), Frey, Jack O’Brien (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest), and Vorchheimer have one goal each. Mason Clatterbuck (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) and Goldfeder both also have two helpers on the year, while Phil Udo-Inyang (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) each have one to their name.
Oh Captain, My Captain
West Chester is being led by three captains this year: Phil Udo-Inyang (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), Cooper Jackson (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson), and Tommy Bodenschatz (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) lead the 2024 edition of the Golden Rams.
Series History
Saturday afternoon’s game will be the first known meeting between West Chester and Southern Connecticut State.
Scouting SCSU
The Owls enter the year with a record of 1-0-1 after defeating Bloomfield 3-0 to open the season on September 5 and tying Bridgeport 1-1 on September 8. Zico Groenveld scored the first goal and lone goal of the game for Southern against Bridgeport, breaking through in the 13th minute off a pass from Jake Novoshelski. Bridgeport answered this goal in the 58th minute, and neither side could muster a goal down the stretch to break the tie, thus leading to the game ending in a 1-1 draw.
Jose Clemente is the team leader in goals and points for the year after registering a hat trick in the season-opening victory over Bloomfield. Groenveld picked up an assist in this matchup, as did Edward Mensah and Kasper Murzinski, as the Owls have five players with a point to their name entering play on Saturday. Devin Juan has played most of the time in goal, playing to a record of 1-0-1 with a 0.50 goals-against average after allowing his first goal of the year on Sunday. The senior keeper from Meriden, Connecticut, has also been credited with two saves in the year, making one stop in each game.
