The West Chester Golden Rams men’s soccer team is off to a scorching start to their new campaign. They are currently sporting a sterling 5–0–1 record, including an undefeated 2–0 in conference play heading into their Wednesday afternoon matchup against division rival Shippensburg University.
The main goal for this team is to qualify for the PSAC tournament, says head coach Michael Benn. “It seems that it gets more competitive each year,” he elaborates, since the top three teams from the division end up making the tournament.
They look well poised to capitalize on that goal since three out of their six matchups have been shutouts up to this point in the season, thanks to an out of this world play by senior goalie Daniel Good. He has only allowed three goals so far, which is remarkable considering the total amount of shots on goal there are in every game.
Complementing that stellar defensive play with electrifying offense on the other side of the ball has been senior Andrew Markopoulos. He has already contributed four goals so far this year. To put that in perspective, he led the team last year with six goals and that was in a full season which is eighteen games. If he keeps this torrid pace up, he’ll have scored twelve goals when all is said and done.
When asked about the standout players so far for the Golden Rams, Coach Benn speaks on the overall balance of his team. “We are not dependent on the same one or two guys every game. Our success is based on a true full team effort.”
This hot streak has them appearing on the United Soccer Division II men’s soccer rankings, where they are ranked 18th. These rankings are a collective opinion of all the Division II coaches, so it is good to see the Golden Rams getting the respect they rightfully deserve.
Unfortunately, that hot streak came to an end against Shippensburg University on Wednesday in the form of a 2–1 defeat.
The Shippensburg Raiders got off to an early lead with a goal in the 14th minute, and this was the first time that West Chester had trailed all season. Junior Devven Frey then contributed the first goal of his collegiate career for the Golden Rams to tie it up 1–1 where it would remain until halftime.
A late goal courtesy of a corner kick would prove to be the deciding factor as the Raiders held on for the 2–1 victory, giving West Chester their first loss of the season.
Overall, this just didn’t seem to be the Golden Rams day as they struggled to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities that they usually connect on. They took a total of twenty-five shots compared to Shippensburg’s seven and had eleven shots on goal to Shippensburg’s six.
It was the play of junior goalie, Cody Willoughby, who was the unsung hero for Shippensburg pulling off the upset as he saved nine shots from finding the back of the net.
On the West Chester side, Good continued his impressive play as he contributed four saves of his own to keep the Golden Rams in the game and within fighting distance.
West Chester looks to get back on track this Saturday against Mercyhurst University, which looks poised to be another good matchup. “Mercyhurst is one of the top programs in the PSAC and the country,” coach Benn said when asked about the upcoming game. “They have only given up one goal so far this year and that was on a penalty kick.”
Colin Bradley is a fourth-year English major with a minor in Journalism. CB953277@wcupa.edu