BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- After opening league play with a victory for the ninth year in a row on Wednesday against Millersville, the West Chester University men's soccer team (4-2-1, 1-0-0) will look to run its winning streak to three in a row on Saturday night at Bloomsburg (3-0-3, 0-0-1) beginning at 6 p.m.
West Chester at Bloomsburg
Match Details: Saturday, October 4 I 6 P.M.
Location: Steph Petit Stadium (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Series: 32-18-9
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LAST TIME OUT
West Chester opened PSAC East play with a victory on Wednesday afternoon, prevailing over archrival Millersville by a 2-1 final on a picture-perfect October afternoon on Rockwell Field.
Joseph Maxwell (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) opened the scoring just under nine minutes into the match before
Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) played the hero with a goal off an assist from
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) in the 76
th minute to lift the Golden Rams to the 2-1 victory.
Millersville ended the match with a 13-8 lead in shots and a slight 5-3 lead in shots on goal, but
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) played well and made four big saves, including one from point-blank range on a bicycle kick attempt to keep the Marauder offense at bay.
FLOCK TALK
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) remains first on the team in scoring with five goals and one assist for 11 points. Slack and Tichy are second and third in scoring with two goals each and three and two assists, respectively. Maxwell and
Dillon Barbieri (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) are tied with Tichy and Slack for second on the team in goals with two each.
Howard has played well in goal throughout the season, playing to a record of 3-2-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average and 23 saves in 540 minutes of work.
STARTING STRONG
West Chester won its PSAC East opener for the 10
th time under head coach
Michael Benn. The Golden Rams are 10-2 in openers under Benn and have not lost their league opener since a September 2015 setback to Mercyhurst by a 3-2 final in double overtime.
FAMILIAR GROUND
For assistant coach Matt Goodall, Saturday's game will be a return home of sorts for the Maryland native. Goodall, who joined West Chester after coaching at Goldey-Beacom College for the last few seasons, was a four-year starter for Bloomsburg on the backline during his collegiate career, which spanned from 2016 to 2019. Goodall scored a goal against West Chester during his time as a Husky, with that tally coming in September 2017.
SIBLING RIVALRY
Junior captain
Ian Alicea (Huntindon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) will match up against his older brother Braden at least two more times this season, as Braden, who has one assist on the year, is a starting member of the Husky backline.
RANK AND FILE
West Chester and Bloomsburg are both knocking on the door of the United Soccer Coaches top 25 as both teams enter the week receiving votes.
SERIES HISTORY
West Chester is 32-18-9 against Bloomsburg all-time after falling to the Huskies for the first time since October 2019 in Bloomsburg a year ago. Last season, this setback was part of a season-series split between the Golden Rams and the eventual PSAC Champions, as the Golden Rams defeated the Huskies in West Chester by a 4-2 final in late September.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Bloomsburg enters play on Saturday at 3-0-3 overall and 0-0-1 in league play after opening conference action with a scoreless draw at ESU on Wednesday night. This draw kept Bloomsburg unbeaten on the year but did halt a three-game winning streak, which had seen the Huskies defeat Felician (2-1), Seton Hill (2-0), and Frostburg State (1-0).
Jake Pachacha is first on the team in scoring with two goals and one assist for five points, while Theo Jackson has one goal and one assist for three points on the season. Sam Blumberger leads the team in assists with two through the first six games of the season.
In goal, Peter Punchello is 3-0-3 on the year with a 0.33 goals-against average and 14 saves, as he started and played all but 1:24 in six games for the reigning PSAC Champions this season.
UP NEXT
West Chester will be back in action next Wednesday evening at East Stroudsburg, beginning at 7 p.m.
