EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) scored the eventual game-winner late in the first half to lift the West Chester University men's soccer team (5-3-1, 2-1-0) to a 1-0 victory over East Stroudsburg (4-4-2, 1-1-1) on Wednesday night.
East Stroudsburg controlled play for much of the first half, but West Chester won a corner in the 36
th minute and wasted no time capitalizing on its second corner of the half as Alicea found his way onto the end of an
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) corner to give the Golden Rams a 1-0 lead.
Searching for its first win in East Stroudsburg since September 2019, West Chester carried this 1-0 advantage into the halftime break, despite ESU ending the half with a 9-7 lead in shots, including a 4-3 lead in shots on goal.
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) was strong in goal through the first 45 minutes, making four stops to keep the Warrior offense at bay.
The Warriors continued to press for an equalizer in the second half, taking seven shots and earning another corner, but only one of the seven chances found its way on goal, and Howard handled it to earn his first shutout of the season.
East Stroudsburg finished the game with a 16-10 lead in shots and a 5-4 lead in shots on goal, while corners were even at 3-3.
Howard played tremendously well in the victory, making five saves, while Kevin Kretschman made three stops in the setback.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at home against Shepherd, beginning at 1 p.m.
