PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- After seeing its originally scheduled season opener against Jefferson, scheduled for Thursday in West Chester, postponed due to lightning, the West Chester University men's soccer team (0-0-1) opened its season at Holy Family (0-1-1) on Saturday afternoon. West Chester and Holy Family battled throughout the afternoon on Saturday, but defense was the storyline as the match ended in a scoreless draw.

West Chester outshot its hosts 7-2 in the first half, including a 2-1 lead in shots on goal, but both Alexi Amanatidis (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./The Shipley School) and Bruno Mestres were up to the task, making the necessary saves to send the game to the halftime break scoreless at 0-0.

In the second half, it was a similar story, although it was Holy Family, who seemed to have the better of the possession, as the Tigers outshot the Golden Rams 7-2 overall and 4-2 in shots on goal, despite the Golden Rams holding a 5-1 lead in corners in the second 45 minutes of action.

The final excellent scoring chance of the match came in the 87^th minute when Lucca Saad had a chance blocked just six minutes after a Tyler Vagner (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview) header off a Danny McGonagle (Glen Mills, Pa./Rustin) corner was saved by Mestres on West Chester's final shot of the afternoon.

West Chester and Holy Family finished the match with nine shots each, although Holy Family held a slim lead in shots on goal (5-4).

West Chester finished the game with an 8-2 lead in corners.

Amanatidis got the first result of the season for West Chester as the senior keeper made five saves, while Mestres bounced back from a loss at Millersville earlier this week with four saves in the draw.

Up Next

West Chester will be back in action next Saturday afternoon in Wilmington beginning at 2 p.m.