It was a hard fought week for the Men’s Ram Soccer team (2-3-1, 1-2-0 PSAC) that had results of a 3-3 tie and a 1-0 victory against their opponents New York Institute of Technology (2-2-1) and the California University of Pennsylvania (3-3-0, 1-2-0 PSAC), respectively. Both games this week saw
additional time following the first 90 minutes.
Two overtime periods were needed in their Wednesday match against the NYIT Bears that unfortunately didn’t see any more scoring and ended in a tie, while Saturday’s match only needed an additional 12 minutes when it ended with a winning goal by the Rams.
Wednesday’s out-of-league match against the Bears marked the first time the team has played at home this season. The 3-3 tie was a tough draw for the team as they squandered a 3-0 lead and conceited three late goals to pull the game even in the final eight minutes of the game.
The first 45 minutes of the game saw a lot of possession of the ball by both teams, with the action of the game staying mostly in the center of the field.
Early opportunities to score for the Rams were there, and in the 32nd minute they were able to capitalize on their chances. A through ball from Andrew Slater left Matt Fioravanti one-on-one with the keeper where he was able to dribble around him and put the ball into the back of an open net. Seven shots on goal in the first half kept the NYIT goalie on his feet having to make three saves.
Following the first goal, the Golden Rams sat back in defense and were able to take a 1-0 lead into the half. Second half goals by WCU’s #10 Miguel Ross (51’) and Max Adarkwah (80’) put the Golden Rams up 3-0 with 10 minutes remaining. The lead was shortly lived when the Bears came back and scored three goals in the final 10 minutes of the game to tie the game. A goal with 10 seconds remaining forced extra time. Two tense 10 minute extra periods weren’t enough for either side, and the game ended in a 3-3 tie.
Saturday’s game ended the week on a high note with an extra time goal lifting the Rams over the Cal U Vulcan’s. The game was very hard fought between both teams with a lot of physical play throughout the game.
West Chester was able to produce multiple chances early in the game with the use of through balls and passes over the top of the Vulcan defense, but weren’t able to capitalize on any of the opportunities. Ross was very active playing the forward position and was the focal point of the passes up to and through the defense. Cal U’s goalkeeper was kept busy through out the course of the game coming up with several crucial saves to keep his team in the contest. 90 minutes wasn’t enough time for either team to get on the scoreboard as regulation ended in a 0-0 tie.
The game wasn’t decided until the final minutes of the first overtime period when Alex Lean was able to knock in a deflection off the keeper in the 97th minute to lift the Golden Rams over the Vulcans for a 1-0 victory.
Next up the Golden Rams will travel to Philadelphia University to take on the Philadelphia U Rams. Later in the week, Shippensburg will make it’s way to Rockwell Field for a PSAC matchup on home turf for West Chester.
Maxwell Randolph is a third-year student majoring in English. He can be reached at MR829829@wcupa.edu.