GANNON, Pa.- The West Chester University men's soccer team (10-5-3) is set for its third PSAC Semifinal appearance in as many years against a familiar foe in Gannon (11-2-4) as the Golden Rams and Golden Knights meet on this stage for the third year in a row. Similar to the match in 2023, West Chester will visit Gannon on Friday afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m., as the two sides will battle in the first semifinal of the day inside McConnell Family Stadium.
West Chester at Gannon
Match Details: November 14 I 2 P.M.
Location: McConnell Family Stadium (Erie, Pa.)
Series: 7-9-1
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Fan Information:
Tickets are required for all PSAC Tournament games. All sales are cashless and are sold online via this
link. Ticket prices are set at $12 for adults and $7 for students K-12, with students from PSAC Member Institutions with current, valid ID being admitted free of charge. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online for the quickest access to McConnell Family Stadium on gameday. The PSAC has launched a Championship Central, which is available
here.
Last Time Out
West Chester kept its 2025 season alive on Monday afternoon with a dramatic 1-0 win over Lock Haven in the PSAC Quarterfinals on Rockwell Field.
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) provided the game-winner with a PK goal in the 64
th minute on the Golden Rams' first PK chance of the season, which held up as the game-winner. West Chester ended the match with a 20-12 lead in shots and a 7-5 lead in shots on goal, while corners were even at 5-5.
Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School) was outstanding, making five saves to improve to 5-1-2 on the year with his third shutout.
Flock Talk
Amanatidis has been excellent in goal since taking over in mid-October, playing to a record of 4-1-2 with three shutouts since making his second start of the year on October 18. Amanatidis made his first start of the season and earned his first win of the year on September 13 at Southern Connecticut State.
Jaden Howard was the starter for much of the year, is 4-4-1 in goal with a 1.71 goals-against average and one shutout.
Offensively, Slack took over the team lead on Monday with his PK goal, increasing his point total to 15, as the senior has four goals and a team-best seven assists.
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) is next with six goals and one assist for 13 points.
Luke Newman (Mission Viejo, Cal./Santa Margarita Catholic) has two goals and assists for 10 points.
Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) and
Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) are next with seven and six points, respectively. Tichy has two goals and three assists, while Alicea is tied with
Joseph Maxwell (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) for third in goals with three for six points.
Championship Weekend History
Head coach
Michael Benn improved to 6-6-5 in PSAC Tournament games on Monday afternoon and is making its ninth PSAC Semifinal appearance. West Chester is 2-6-1 in PSAC Semifinals under Benn, although both victories have come since 2018, when the team appeared in the Championship match in 2018 and 2023.
We Are Honored
The PSAC unveiled its All-League teams on Wednesday afternoon, and West Chester had four honorees as
Ian Alicea,
Owen Slack, and
Luke Newman earned First Team honors, while
Maksym Komperda was named to the Second Team.
First Since 2019
West Chester returns to the PSAC Semifinals for the third year in a row, but is here by virtue of a Quarterfinal victory for the first time since 2019, as the team has advanced on PKs each of the previous two seasons.
This is Familiar
West Chester has faced Gannon in the PSAC Semifinals each of the last three seasons, going 1-1-0 in the previous two matchups. At Gannon in 2023, West Chester defeated the Golden Knights by a 2-1 final before falling to them in Bloomsburg by a 1-0 final in overtime last November.
Series History
West Chester will face Gannon for the fifth time in the last three seasons on Friday, looking to halt a three-game losing streak to the Golden Knights and improve to 8-9-1 in the all-time series. West Chester and Gannon have met in the PSAC Semifinals each of the last three seasons and have also met in the regular season in each of the last two years. Earlier this season, West Chester visited Gannon and fell to the Golden Knights inside McConnell Family Stadium by a 3-1 final. In this matchup. Rafa Hyde scored first just over five minutes, but Komperda answered for West Chester less than 20 minutes later to tie the match at 1-1. Sverre Orten, who had assisted Hyde on his first goal, had the favor returned to him late in the first half, which gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead heading into the half. Jack Kenyon added a final goal in the 69
th minute to seal the 3-1 victory.
Scouting Gannon
Riding a seven-game winning streak, Gannon (11-2-4) will look to remain unbeaten (6-0-1) at home this season against West Chester on Friday afternoon. Gannon has not lost since a 2-1 setback at Adelphi on September 23 and has not finished with a draw since an October 11 stalemate (1-1) at home against Lock Haven after also playing to a 2-2 tie at Pitt-Johnstown on October 4.
Gannon wrapped up the regular season with an 8-0 victory over California inside McConnell Family Stadium, which included two goals each from Rafa Hyde and Enzo Rekka. Gannon finished the match, which the team led 3-0 at the half, with a 29-6 shot advantage, a 13-1 shots-on-goal advantage, and a 4-2 corner-kick advantage.
Sverre Orten is in the midst of an incredible season with 14 goals and 12 assists for 40points, while Hyde and Rekka are tied for second on the team in scoring with 29 points each. Hyde has 10 goals and nine assists to his name, while Rekka has nine goals and 11 assists. The trio of Manuel Pereyra, Shota Toyama, and Fabricio Zuliani is also fearsome for opposing defenses, as all three have 13 points on the year. Pereyra has five goals and three assists, while Toyama and Zuliani both have four goals and five assists.
In goal, Andre Moraes remains the starter with a record of 8-1-2 and a 1.07 goals-against average with two shutouts (four combined). Samuel Alarcon has also seen significant time this season and is 3-1-2 with a 1.12 goals-against average and two shutouts of his own.
The Other Half
The other semifinal features a pair of PSAC East teams, as Millersville will face Bloomsburg on Friday evening at 5 p.m. for the remaining spot in the PSAC Championship game on Sunday afternoon.
With a Win
With a victory on Friday, West Chester would advance to the PSAC Championship match for the third time in its history and the second time since 2023.
