West Chester vs Bloomsburg
Game Details: September 21 I 12 p.m.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Game Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: WCU leads 26-19-9 (WCU 6-2-2 in last 10)
West Chester Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Bloomsburg Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester put its three-game winning streak and four-game unbeaten streak to the test on Wednesday afternoon with a visit to New York to take on Mercy, whom the Golden Rams had not faced since 2008. Mercy, who has still yet to allow a goal this season, opened the scoring early, finding its first goal just 11 minutes into the match before scoring three more times, including a pair from Johannes Tjostheim, who leads Division II in goals per game, averaging 2.0 per game through the first four games of the year. Howard worked hard in goal, making six saves, but it was not enough to help the Golden Rams avoid their first loss of the new season.
Bouncing Back
Last season, West Chester went 5-1-2 in games following a loss or tie, including a 2-1 victory over Gannon in the PSAC Semifinals, which halted a two-game winless streak as the Golden Rams ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to ESU and opened the PSAC Tournament with a scoreless draw (advanced on PKs) vs Bloomsburg.
In League Openers
In his tenure at the helm, head coach Michael Benn is 8-2 in PSAC openers and has not lost his PSAC opener since a road loss at Mercyhurst on September 11, 2015, by a 3-2 final in double overtime.
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 Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) have split time in goal. Amanatidis started the season opener vs Jefferson, earned his first collegiate win vs Wilmington, and shows a record of 1-0-1 with a 1.50 goals-against average. For his part, Howard made his first start at Holy Family and earned a pair of shutout victories vs the Tigers and Southern Connecticut State before suffering his first career loss at Mercy on Wednesday afternoon. Howard, the first West Chester keeper to start back-to-back games so far this year, enters the weekend with a record of 2-1-0 with a pair of shutouts and a 1.33 goals-against average.
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 and Bloomsburg are no strangers to one another, as Saturday afternoon’s game will be the 52nd meeting between the two rivals, with WCU leading the series by a 26-19-9 margin. In 2023, West Chester and Bloomsburg met three times, and the season series ended with a 1-0-2 margin. West Chester opened the series with a 1-0 road victory at Bloomsburg before playing to a 2-2 draw through the rain on Senior Day in mid-October and a scoreless draw in the PSAC Quarterfinals in early November. In November, West Chester advanced past the Huskies on PKs by a 4-2 final, eventually earning a spot in the PSAC Championship game vs Millersville, marking the Golden Rams' first PSAC Championship appearance since 2018 vs the Marauders on Rockwell Field.
Scouting Bloomsburg
West Chester will open PSAC East play vs Bloomsburg for the first time since 2009, a meeting that the Huskies won by a 3-0 final. This year, Bloomsburg enters play with a record of 3-1-1 and a mark of 0-0-1 in league action after opening with a 1-1 draw vs East Stroudsburg on Wednesday afternoon. Bloomsburg opened the scoring in the 56th minute with a goal by Patrick Walsh beyond Cayetano Diaz, tied things up just over 11 minutes later to force a 1-1 draw between the Huskies and Warriors.
Offensively, Teagan Wallace leads Bloomsburg in scoring with two goals and one assist and is one of just three Huskies to score a goal so far this year, with Sam Blumberger and Patrick Walsh being the other two. Kody Besser leads the team in assists with two, while Wallace, Parker Nickelsen, and Owen Hollobaugh all have one assist each.
In goal, Brady Rimple has started four of five games for the Huskies, playing to a record of 2-1-1 with two shutouts and a 0.60 goals-against average, while Peter Punchello is 1-0-0 with one shutout after earning the starting nod and playing the full 90 vs Findlay earlier this season.
