SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- Unbeaten in three of its last four, the West Chester University men's soccer team (6-5-3, 3-3-2) heads into the weekend in need of a win at Shepherd (6-9-0, 3-5-0) on Saturday at to aid in its quest at 3:30 p.m. for a return to the PSAC Tournament.
West Chester at Shepherd
Match Details: November 1 I 3:30 P.M.
Location: Shepherdstown, W.V.
Series: 10-5-0
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Last Time Out
West Chester got out to an early lead at Millersville on Wednesday night as
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) scored his third goal of the year just over four minutes in to give West Chester an early 1-0 lead. This lead held up into the second half before Millersville, after a period of sustained pressure on the West Chester defense, which included two blocked shots and three corners, resulted in a penalty kick goal for the Marauders. West Chester battled over the next 35 minutes and played man-up for the final 32 minutes, which nearly resulted in a goal late as West Chester took three shots and had five corners in the last nine minutes. Kieran Finegan played his best soccer of the night in the final nine minutes, making two saves, while another chance by
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) rang the crossbar as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School) made three saves in the draw.
West Chester ended the game with an 11-9 lead in shots and a 7-4 lead in corners, although the Marauders finished the match with a slight 4-3 lead in shots on goal.
Flock Talk
Komperda and Slack are tied for the team lead in points with 11 each as Komperda has a team-best five goals and one assist, while Slack has a team-leading five assists and three goals.
Luke Newman (Mission Viejo, Cal./Santa Margarita Catholic) is third in scoring with two goals and four assists for eight points, while
Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) is close behind with two goals and three assists for seven points.
In goal, Amanatidis has been the starter for each of the last five matches, playing to a record of 2-1-2 with a 0.80 goals-against average, including his crucial shutout over Bloomsburg last Saturday.
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) started for much of the season and is 4-4-1 with a 1.78 goals-against average.
The Playoff Picture
Entering the final games of the regular season, head coach
Michael Benn and the Golden Rams have everything in front of them that they could ask for as the team, while on the wrong side of the three-team playoff field for the moment, still has a chance to not only make the field but potentially win the Eastern Division. The simplest part of the equation is that West Chester needs a pair of wins over Shepherd and Shippensburg. If the Golden Rams can take care of their business and win these games, they will have a chance to make the PSAC Tournament. Unfortunately, their playoff destiny is not entirely within their control. If either East Stroudsburg or Bloomsburg plays to a record of 1-1-0 or worse in the final two games of the regular season, West Chester will punch its ticket to the Tournament. If both teams play to a record of 1-1-0 or worse and West Chester wins both its games, the Golden Rams will make the Tournament as the second seed and host a home quarterfinal on Rockwell Field on November 10. Now for the fun part, if West Chester goes 2-0, Millersville, whom West Chester won the season series over last night with a draw after a win on Rockwell earlier in the year, goes 0-2, and East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg go 1-1-0 or worse with their lone wins coming over Millersville, West Chester would rocket from fourth to first and win the PSAC East Regular Season crown.
As He Goes
With his goal in the draw last night, Slack is now tied for the team lead in scoring with three goals and five assists for 11 points. West Chester is 5-0-2 when Slack scores a point, including a crucial win over Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon, when Slack provided a free kick assist.
We Are Honored
Making his fourth start of the year and third in a row, Amanatidis turned in his best effort of the year on Saturday, making 10 saves to quiet the Bloomsburg offense. Amanatidis is the first Golden Ram to be honored by the league office this season. Amanatidis also made the start in Millersville last night and made three saves to keep the Golden Rams in the match throughout the evening.
Series History
West Chester is 10-5 against Shepherd since 2009 and saw a 10-game winning streak against the Rams halted in late October a year ago. The Golden Rams fell to 6-3 against the Rams on Rockwell Field, suffering a 2-1 home setback earlier this fall —the first home loss to the Rams since October 2011.
Scouting Shepherd
After its 2-1 win over West Chester on October 11, Shepherd fell into tough times, dropping three in a row to Bloomsburg (3-1), Millersville (3-2), and East Stroudsburg (3-2) before defeating Shippensburg by a 4-3 final on the road on Wednesday night. On Wednesday at Shippensburg, the Rams trailed by two at the half but scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half, with Ron Abarjel scoring in the 48th, before an own goal in the 50
th tied the match at 2-2. Shippensburg took a 3-2 lead in the 74
th via a penalty kick before the Rams countered with two quick goals in the 75
th and 76
th minutes, including a PK from Josh Petty in the 76
th to take a 4-3 lead. Shepherd finished the game with a 19-9 lead in shots, including an 11-5 lead in shots on goal, and a 6-4 lead in corners. Ryan Krumenacker was excellent for Shippensburg, making eight saves in the loss, while Aidan Houck made a pair of saves for the Rams.
Petty's PK goal late in the victory last night was his 12
th goal of the season and fourth game-winner, both of which are the best on the team, as the sophomore forward leads the squad in scoring with 26 points (12 goals/2 assists). Mac Long is second in scoring with six goals and four assists for 16 points, while Justin Langon is third with three goals and two assists for eight points. Houck is 6-9-0 in goal with a 1.87 goals against average and 62 saves in 1,350 minutes of action.
Up Next
West Chester will return home for a pair of games in West Chester next week to conclude the regular season as Holy Family visits Rockwell Field for the non-league finale at 2 p.m. on Monday before hosting Shippensburg on Thursday at 1 p.m.
