WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University men's soccer team (5-3-1, 2-1-0) is set to return home on Saturday afternoon to take on Shepherd (4-6-0, 1-2-0) on Rockwell Field beginning at 1 p.m.
West Chester vs Shepherd
Match Details: October 11 I 1 P.M.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 10-4-0
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Last Time Out
Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) scored the eventual game-winner late in the first half with a header off an
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) corner to give the Golden Rams a 1-0 halftime lead.
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) made this one-goal advantage stand up, making five saves to earn his first shutout of the season.
East Stroudsburg ended the game with a 16-10 lead in shots and a 5-4 lead in shots on goal, although corner kicks were even at 3-3.
Flock Talk
Slack recorded his team-best fourth assist of the year on Wednesday night at East Stroudsburg while Alicea picked up his second goal of the season, which is tied with five other Golden Rams for second best on the team.
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) continues to lead the team in scoring with five goals and one assist for 11 points, while Slack is second on the team with eight points thanks to his two goals and four assists.
Luke Newman (Mission Viejo, Cal./Santa Margarita Catholic) is tied with Slack for the team lead in assists with four helpers of his own.
Howard improved to 4-3-1 in goal last night with his first shutout of the season, which also lowered his goals-against average to 1.75, while his five saves increased his save total to 30 and his save percentage to .682.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester makes a brief stop at home on Saturday after two straight games away from home to take on Shepherd. West Chester will venture back out on the road next Saturday to visit Shippensburg before back-to-back home games against East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg on October 22 and 25.
West Chester is 2-1-1 at home this year, with wins in each of its last two home games after starting off 0-1-1 at home with a loss to Wilmington and a draw vs Mercy.
Hot Streak
West Chester has caught fire in recent weeks, winning three of the last four matches, including wins over California (Pa.), Millersville, and East Stroudsburg, with the lone setback being a 2-0 loss at Bloomsburg on Saturday evening. Two of these three wins have been league wins for the Golden Rams, and West Chester is currently in first place with six points. The Golden Rams are tied with the Marauders for first in the standings, but hold the early tiebreak thanks to a 2-1 win on Rockwell earlier this month.
Series History
West Chester is 10-4 against Shepherd since 2009 and recently saw its 10-game winning streak over the Rams halted at Shepherd in late October of last year. The Golden Rams are 6-2 against Shepherd on Rockwell Field and have not lost to the Rams in West Chester since a 1-0 setback in October 2011.
Scouting Shepherd
Shepherd enters play at 4-6 overall and 1-2 in league play, including a pair of losses to East Stroudsburg and Millersville after opening PSAC East play with a 4-1 win over Shippensburg on October 1. Shepherd is 0-4 away from home this year compared to a 4-2 mark in games played on its home turf.
Against Millersville on Wednesday, Shepherd found itself down a goal just eight minutes in and down a pair with under 10 minutes to play before Josh Petty scored his ninth goal of the season to cut the deficit in half with just over three minutes to play in regulation. Millersville ended the match with a 12-10 lead in shots and a 4-1 lead in corners, although shots on goal were even at 5-5.
Petty leads the team in scoring with nine goals and one assist for 19 points, while Mac Long is second with four goals and three assists for 11 points on the season. In goal, Aidan Houck is 4-6-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and 40 saves as he has played all 90 minutes in all 10 matches this season for Shepherd.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action next Saturday at Shippensburg beginning at 2 p.m.
