SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- In need of a win to keep its PSAC Tournament aspirations alive, the West Chester University men's soccer team (7-5-3, 4-3-2) got the three points it desperately needed with a 2-0 victory over Shepherd (6-10-0, 4-6-0) on Saturday afternoon in West Virginia.
West Chester jumped out to an early lead when
Michael Regan (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) scored his first career goal just under seven minutes into the match, which helped the visitors take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester outshot Shepherd 4-3 in the first half, despite the Rams holding a 4-0 advantage in corners.
Early in the second half, West Chester picked up an important insurance goal when
Joseph Maxwell (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) scored his third of the year off an assist from
Luke Newman (Mission Viejo, Cal./Santa Margarita Catholic) to give West Chester a 2-0 lead in the 49
th minute.
West Chester's defense stiffened after this as the Golden Rams outshot their hosts 6-1 and finished the half with a 3-1 lead in corners, finishing the match with a 10-4 lead in shots and a 2-1 lead in shots on goal.
Shepherd ended the match with a 5-3 lead in corners, but thanks in part to the play of Alex Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School), which included a save on the Rams' lone shot on goal, West Chester left West Virginia with a 2-0 victory.
Millersville secured the PSAC East Regular Season crown with its 2-0 victory over Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon, but this also allowed West Chester to leapfrog the Huskies into a potential playoff spot heading into the final PSAC game of the regular season for both sides next week. West Chester will still need either a win on Thursday over Shippensburg or a Bloomsburg loss in order to earn a spot in the PSAC Tournament when play begins on November 10.
Up Next
West Chester will take a brief break from league play on Monday for a rescheduled game against Holy Family on Rockwell Field at 2 p.m. before concluding the regular season at home against Shippensburg on Thursday.
