PHILADELPHIA- The West Chester University men's soccer team (1-0-0) went on the road to open the season and posted a convincing 4-2 victory over Jefferson (0-1-0) to start the 2025 season.
Peter Tichy (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) had the honors of scoring the first goal of the season in the 18
th minute when he was the recipient of a well-placed pass from
Owen Slack (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), which gave the Golden Rams a 1-0 lead.
Slack doubled the lead in the 35
th minute when he scored a goal of his own before Zayd Akhtar of Jefferson cut the lead in half in the 40
th minute off an assist from Lesedi Hlabeli.
West Chester went to the halftime break holding a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard and an 8-2 lead in shots, along with a 2-1 lead in corners.
The Golden Ram offensive pressure continued in the second half when
Joseph Maxwell (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) scored his first goal of the year in the 52
nd minute before
Dillon Barbieri (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) added an insurance goal in the 82
nd off an assist from
Maksym Komperda (Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) to stretch the lead to 4-1.
Mohamed Elhendawy got one back for Jefferson in the 85
th minute off an assist from Hlabeli, but this was as close as the Rams could come to matching the Golden Rams in the season opener for both sides.
West Chester ended the second half with a 13-4 lead in shots and finished the game with a 21-6 lead in shots and an 8-3 lead in shots on goal. The Golden Rams also ended the game with a 4-1 lead in corner kicks.
Jaden Howard (Townsend, Del./Middletown) made one save in his season debut while allowing two goals on three shots on goal. Lucca Bellina made four saves for Jefferson in an ill-fated attempt to slow the Golden Ram offense.
With tonight's victory, West Chester is now 6-1-1 in openers against Jefferson, as the two teams have faced each other at the start of the season for each of the last eight years.
Up Next
West Chester will return home for its home opener on Saturday and look to improve to 2-0 on the season when Holy Family visits Rockwell Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday's game is the first of a two-game homestand for the Golden Rams as the team will host Wilmington on Wednesday, September 10, at 3 p.m.
