West Chester University Men’s Soccer (3-1, 2-1 PSAC) had their three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday as they fell to Gannon University (2-1-1, 1-0-1 PSAC) 2-1 in front of 176 fans on their home Rockwell Field.
WCU junior midfielder Tim French scored the first goal of the game off an assist from junior forward Max Adarwah at the 7:52 mark, but their offense began to sputter as they were unable to record another score for the remainder of the contest.
After French’s first score of his junior campaign, the Knights’ Sergio Kobowane issued a rebuttal at 23:13 as he connected on an unassisted goal that tied the game at one apiece. A few minutes later Gannon struck again, with Mathias Krigbaum scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal off of a dime from Luis Drimel.
In goal for the Rams was sophomore James Woods, who amassed 14 saves, with 12 of those coming in the first half. Woods won’t be happy with the shot discrepancy between West Chester and Gannon, as WCU attempted a mere four shots on goal in the game (zero in the second half) compared to GU’s 23, 18 of which came in the second frame.
Gannon assumed the role of the aggressor from the game’s opening moments, and that’s what allowed them to successfully steer their vessel into the victory lane. Toiling in the loser’s circle is something West Chester had not been accustomed to prior to Saturday’s defeat, as they reeled of three consecutive victories against Philadelphia University (WCU 3-0), University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (WCU 3-1), and a two-overtime thriller against Mercyhurst University (WCU 2-1).
WCU had many helping hands in their triumph over Philadelphia U, as Jason Pixley (assisted by Nicholas Meola), Matt Canis (assisted by Tyler Rapposelli) and Miguel Ross all scored a goal for the Rams in the rout.
West Chester then opened up PSAC play with a power performance against University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown by securing a lopsided 3-1 victory. Brian Schaefer, who was named WCUs Athlete of the Week for his play dating from the start of the season until Sept. 5, scored two goals and Ross added the third.
In their two overtime battle with Mercyhurst, WCU was propelled to victory by freshman Brett Miller, who nailed the game-winning (and his first ever collegiate) goal with 4:32 remaining in the second overtime session.
If there is anything the Golden Rams have shown so far this season in addition to their strong play, it’s their ability to agitate the opponent. WCU’s opposition has been issued a yellow card in every contest thus far, with Colin Harrison of University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown being ejected after being given a red card at the 79:29 mark.
WCU will play two away games this week, venturing to Old Westbury, New York for a showdown with New York Institute of Technology (3-1), and then California, Pa., as they’ll be pitted against California University of Pennsylvania (3-0). West Chester’s next home game is against Wilmington University of Delaware on Sept. 20, so save the date and prepare to cheer on the Golden Rams.
Will “B.J.” Boyer is a third-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at WB806695@wcupa.edu.