West Chester at Mercy
Game Details: Wednesday, September 18 I 2:30 p.m.
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Game Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 6-2-0 (WCU has won each of the last six); First Meeting since 2008
West Chester Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Mercy Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester continued its winning ways on Saturday afternoon at home against Southern Connecticut State, vanquishing the visiting Owls by a 1-0 final on Rockwell Field. West Chester dominated in the first half vs SCSU, ending the opening stanza with a 10-1 lead in shots, although the scoreboard told a different story as the match remained tied at 0-0 through 45 minutes. In the second half, SCSU upped its offensive intensity, taking 10 shots, although only two found their way on goal; West Chester matched this output, taking 10 shots of its own, including the eventual game-winner. As the game clock crept under 20 minutes to play, Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) scored his team-best third goal of the year off an assist from Jason Goldfeder (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) to give the hosts a one-goal adv antage. The West Chester defense ensured this lead lasted until the final whistle, as the Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) backed squad played well down the stretch to emerge with a 1-0 victory and its second shutout of the young season.
That’s Called a Winning Streak
West Chester is currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak and is looking to stretch its season-opening unbeaten streak to five 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.
My Turn
West Chester has employed a two-goalkeeper system to great success so far this year as Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School) 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 SCSU and made three saves to win a shutout against the Tigers before making two more in a shutout victory over the Owls on Saturday.
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 leads the way with three, while Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) has scored two of his own. At the same time, Tommy Bodenschatz (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford, Frankie Taylor (Delran, N.J./Delran), 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 Jason Goldfeder (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) 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.
On The Road Again
West Chester will return home on Saturday afternoon to open PSAC East vs. play vs. rival Bloomsburg before heading back out on the road for the rest of September with visits to Shippensburg on September 25 and California on September 28 to conclude the month. West Chester will start October at home and will remain at Rockwell for four games in a row, with the homestand concluding on October 12 vs. Gannon on Senior Day for the Golden Rams.
Series History
West Chester holds a 6-2-0 series lead over Mercy dating back to the first meeting between the two teams in the 1999 season. Mercy captured the first two meetings against the Golden Rams in ’99 and 2000 before West Chester went on a six-game winning streak to grab a 6-2 lead in the series. Head coach Michael Benn has not faced Mercy in his tenure at the helm, as Wednesday afternoon’s clash will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2008.
Scouting Mercy
A perennially strong side, Mercy enters play on Wednesday also unbeaten, showing a record of 2-0-1 on the year after opening the season with a scoreless draw vs East Stroudsburg and winning each of its last two games vs Adelphi and the College of Staten Island by a combined 7-0 final. On Friday the 13th, Mercy opened league play with a dominant 5-0 victory over CSI, scoring three goals in the first half, including two in the first 15 minutes to roll to a victory over the Dolphins. Mercy ended the match with a 16-11 lead in shots and a 5-1 lead in shots on goal, controlling possession throughout much of the afternoon on Friday vs its league rival.
Defense has certainly been a strong suit for Mercy so far this season as the Mavericks have yet to surrender a goal this season. Erik Elvestad has been the starter between the pipes for Mercy throughout the early part of the season, playing to a record of 2-0-1 with 18 saves and three shutouts. Offensively, Johannes Tjostheim leads the way for Mercy, scoring a team-high six goals over the course of the last two matches, including four vs Staten Island on Friday afternoon. Mateo Bacigalupo has also been a force for Mercy early on this season, scoring one goal, the game-winner vs CSI and adding an assist in that victory as well.
