WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following an exciting win over Shippensburg on Thursday in the regular-season finale, the West Chester University men's soccer team (9-5-3, 5-3-2) is finishing its preparations for a PSAC Quarterfinal battle against an old Division rival in Lock Haven (8-6-4, 4-3-3) beginning at 1 p.m. on Monday afternoon. West Chester enters play as the second seed in the PSAC East, while Lock Haven will be the third seed from the PSAC West as the 2025 season is the first year of PSAC Quarterfinal crossover between the East and West in men's soccer.
#2E West Chester vs #3W Lock Haven
Match Details: November 10 I 1 P.M.
Location: Rockwell Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 15-23-3
Coverage Links: Live Stats I
Video I
Tickets
WCU Links: NEWS I
ROSTER I
SCHEDULE I
STATS
LHU Links: NEWS I
ROSTER I
SCHEDULE I
STATS
Fan Information
Fans are advised that they will be required to park across the street from Rockwell Field in Lot Q (parking lot adjacent to Farrell Stadium/directly across South New Street from Rockwell Field) for all postseason events once again in 2025. Additionally, 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 Rockwell Field on gameday. The PSAC has launched a Championship Central, which is available
here.
Last Time Out
Needing a win on the final day of the regular season to return to the PSAC Tournament for the ninth year in a row, the West Chester University men's soccer team got the win it was looking for on Thursday over Shippensburg by a 2-1 final. West Chester scored early when
Ian Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) scored his third goal of the year on a header off assists from
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) and
Luke Newman (Mission Viejo, Cal./Santa Margarita Catholic) just over a minute into the match. Nate Herb found the equalizer for Shippensburg in the 30
th minute, which set up
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) to be the hero in the 81
st minute when he scored his team-leading sixth goal of the year off the team-best seventh assist of the year from Slack to give the Golden Rams the 2-1 win.
Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School) made one save to earn his fourth win of the year. West Chester ended the match with a 26-5 lead in shots, including a 10-2 lead in shots on goal, while the Golden Rams also finished the afternoon with a 12-1 lead in corners.
Flock Talk
Komperda and Slack are tied for first on the team in scoring with 13 points each. Komperda has a team-best six goals, including his game-winner on Thursday and an assist, while Slack has three goals and a team-best seven assists. Newman is close behind with 10 points, with two goals and six assists to his name.
Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) and Alicea are fourth and fifth with seven (two goals/three assists) and six (three goals) points, respectively.
In goal, Amanatidis has been the starter down the stretch of the season, playing to a record of 4-1-2 with two shutouts and a 0.71 goals-against average with an .815 save percentage.
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) started for much of the early part of the season and is 4-4-1 with a 1.71 goals-against average and one shutout.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester is 5-3-1 at home this season and has won each of its last three home games over Bloomsburg (1-0), Holy Family (2-1), and Shippensburg (2-1) to return to the PSAC Tournament for the ninth year in a row.
Hello Newman…
In his first season as a Golden Ram, Newman has quickly showcased himself as a bona fide difference maker for the Golden Rams, as the junior forward is third on the team in scoring with two goals and six assists for 10 points on the season. Newman added his sixth assist of the year on Thursday afternoon and was tied for first on the team in assists with Slack until the senior captain added his second assist of the day on the game-winning goal by Komperda late in the second half.
That's Our Captain
Alicea and Slack the Golden Rams in 2025. Both contributed to the PSAC Tournament-clinching victory on Thursday against Shippensburg, as Alicea scored the first goal of the game and his third of the season with an early header, while Slack provided an assist on both goals to retake the team lead in assists with seven on the season. Slack scoring at least a point has been a remarkably positive sign for West Chester this season, as the team is an impressive 6-0-2 when Slack scores at least one point this season.
The Streak is Alive
West Chester has not missed the PSAC Tournament under head coach
Michael Benn since 2015. West Chester is making its 11
th appearance in the Tournament under Benn and is looking for its ninth PSAC Semifinal appearance and, potentially, its third PSAC Championship game appearance as the team continues its hunt for its first PSAC Championship in program history. Benn is 5-6-5 in PSAC Tournament games since 2013 and has played four home quarterfinals, with the most recent home game being a home quarterfinal loss to Millersville in 2021. Benn is 4-1-2 at home in the PSAC Tournament, with his first home loss being at the hands of Millersville in 2021.
Hello Again
Since 1986, West Chester trails Lock Haven 15-23-3 in the all-time series, although West Chester has won three of the last four meetings, with the lone exception being a 2-2 draw at Lock Haven in October 2022. The 2024 season marked the first time since 2009 that West Chester had not faced Lock Haven at some point during the season, as the 2024 season was the first season in which Lock Haven was a member of the PSAC West in men's soccer. West Chester is 6-9-2 against the Bald Eagles in West Chester, although the Golden Rams are 4-3-0 against Lock Haven on Rockwell Field under head coach
Michael Benn.
Scouting Lock Haven
Lock Haven (8-6-4, 4-3-3) enters the PSAC Tournament in the midst of a two-game losing streak after falling to Seton Hill on the road on Thursday by a 4-1 final to drop to 4-4-2 in games played away from Hubert Jack Stadium this season. After 3-1 and 3-0 victories over California (Pa.) and Pitt-Johnstown to end October, Lock Haven has been outscored 7-1 through its first two games of November, falling 3-0 to No. 16 Gannon and 4-1 at Seton Hill to wrap the regular season on Thursday.
At Seton Hill, the Griffins opened the scoring six minutes into the match and added two more in the first 15 minutes of the second half to take a 3-0 lead. Kade Black got the Blad Eagles on the scoreboard with a goal in the 63
rd minute before Seton Hill scored its final goal of the game in the 69
th to secure the 4-1 victory.
With his ninth goal of the year yesterday, Black now has a team-best 19 points on the season, while Noah Brady is second in scoring with six goals and one assist for 13 points, followed by Camden Marquette with five goals and two assists for 12 points. Billy Lawrence leads Lock Haven in assists with six, along with two goals for 10 points on the season.
In goal, Ethan Beck is 7-5-4 on the year with a 1.01 goals-against average and six shutouts with 43 saves and a .741 save percentage.
Monday's quarterfinal will be Lock Haven's sixth game of the year against an old PSAC East rival as the Bald Eagles tied Bloomsburg (0-0), lost to Shepherd (3-0) and Millersville (3-0), and defeated Shippensburg (4-2) and East Stroudsburg (2-0) in non-league play earlier this fall.
With a Win
With a win, West Chester will punch its ticket back to the PSAC Semifinals for the third year in a row after advancing to the PSAC Championship game for the first time since 2018 in 2022. West Chester would advance to face Gannon in the PSAC Semifinals at 2 p.m. in a rematch of the PSAC Semifinals in each of the last two seasons. The other quarterfinal features Seton Hill hosting Bloomsburg, with the winner advancing to face Millersville in the semifinals at 5 p.m. on Friday at Gannon.
