WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University men's soccer team (5-4-1, 2-2-0) returned home on Saturday afternoon to take on Shepherd (5-6-0, 3-2-0). West Chester battled throughout the afternoon but fell to the visiting Rams by a 2-1 final on the strength of a late second-half goal by Aaron Sullivan.
Shepherd got out to an early lead when Justin Langon drove a shot past a diving
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) in the 11
th minute to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
Shepherd continued to press and pester the Golden Ram defense as the first half continued, forcing the Golden Ram backline and Howard to make a number of strong plays to keep the deficit at 1-0.
West Chester generated late chances after a handful of mid-half substitutions, but the Rams ended the first 45 minutes with a 14-4 lead in shots and a 9-2 lead in shots on goal, along with a 2-1 lead in corners.
Howard made eight saves in the first half, just one shy of his season high, to keep the deficit right where it was.
West Chester continued applying pressure to open the second half, and it paid dividends when
Luke Newman (Mission Viejo, Cal./Santa Margarita Catholic) scored off a well-placed pass from
Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) to tie the match at 1-1.
Aaron Sullivan scored the go-ahead goal for Shepherd on a far-post header as the ball found its way out of traffic around the near post, giving the Rams a 2-1 lead with under 12 minutes to play.
West Chester pressured and won two later corner kicks but only generated one shot, a shot by
Alex Fedor (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East), which Aidan Houck saved as the Rams held on for a 2-1 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Shepherd ended the match with a 20-13 lead in shots and a 14-8 lead in shots on goal, despite the Golden Rams finishing the game with a 7-2 lead in corners, including a 6-0 lead in the second half.
Howard made a career-high 12 saves in the loss, while his counterpart, Houck, made seven stops of his own to help the Rams to their first road win of the year.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action next Saturday at Shippensburg beginning at 2 p.m.
