West Chester men’s soccer finished their season on a high note by playing to a 1-1 tie in double overtime at Millersville on Oct. 30, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game.The Golden Rams ended their season with a 6-9-2 record, and a 1-6-2 mark in the PSAC.
Millersville (11-4-2, 5-3-1 PSAC) struck first when Kyle Loughlin scored after only 12:49 off assists from Andrew Dukes and Matt Kadoch.
The Marauders held their lead deep into the second half before WCU freshman Conor Malarney scored his team-leading eighth goal in the 81st minute.
Peter Weiss played the entire contest for the Rams and made six saves. His counterpart, Matt Langione, stopped four shots and also played the whole game.
West Chester’s defense came up strong by giving Millersville less than favorable looks at goal. WCU was actually outshot 23-11 in the contest, including a 6-1 edge for Millersville in the two overtime periods. Millersville also held a 12-2 edge in corner kicks. Despite these factors, the Ram defense allowed only two additional shots on goal.
This season was a rollercoaster for the Rams. They looked like a team that was bound for the playoffs in the beginning, faltered mightily throughout the middle portion of their schedule, and finished with a late surge against some of the Atlantic Region’s best.
In their first two games, the team hosted the WCU Fall Classic tournament and won both games while scoring 10 goals. Entering conference play, the team looked poised to prove the media wrong, after they picked them to finish eighth in the PSAC.
Unfortunately, the opening promise was not realized directly following the tournament wins.
WCU began PSAC play against Lock Haven with a 1-0 loss. Including that game, West Chester went on to lose six consecutive games; four of the six losses came in PSAC play, five came by one-goal deficits and five were shutouts.
Finally getting out of the PSAC was a blessing for the Rams, as three straight non-conference games against weaker competition was just what the team needed to get some momentum going. Three games and three W’s later, by a 14-2 margin, did just that.
However, two more PSAC games and a nonconference game against Chestnut Hill added three more tallies to the loss column.
West Chester then embarked on a long road trip to Erie, Pa. for two games versus talented PSAC opponents.
The prognosis was not good going into these games, but the team gave fans and players hope for next year with their performances. They broke their winless streak in the PSAC in emphatic fashion by tying No. 4 Mercyhurst in an away game. The very next day, the team built on that effort by ending their winless ways in the PSAC with a 3-2 win over No. 12 Gannon in a game played at Edinboro.
Finally, WCU ended their rollercoaster year with the aforementioned tie versus Millersville.
West Chester certainly fared better at home (5-5-1) than they did away (0-4-2). Their win against Gannon is considered a neutral site.
Perhaps more indicative of their season, though, was their shots on goal. Certainly in many of their non-conference games, WCU dominated this category. Despite this, on the season the Rams took 186 shots while putting 117 on goal. Opponents took 236 shots with 121 on goal.
Individually, seniors Zac Tassone and Ricky Williamson were touted as the leaders of the team. Williamson put together a brilliant campaign with six goals and three assists. Tassone was not nearly as prolific a scorer, with only two goals all year.
Before the season started, freshman Malarney and Kyle Miller came in as relative unknowns. Malarney shined brightly all year; his eight goals and four assists were both team-highs. Miller was easily the most economical player on the squad. He scored five goals and also registered two assists-all on 11 total shots on the year.
Other notables were Neil Gallagher (two goals, two assists), Josh Labik (three goals, three assists) and Kevin McCann (two goals, one assist). Gallagher provided stability in the midfield as a consistent starter. The other two gave the team excellent energy and goal-scoring, normally off the bench.
Andrew Solimeo, Dan Roberts, Taylor Eisenhauer, Drew Innerst and Peter Mais all started at least 11 games.
In goal, Weiss was the primary starter for the Golden Rams. He started 14 games and played in two others while making 82 saves with a .820 save percentage. Kevin Marron served as the primary backup, starting two games and appearing in five more. He logged about 269 minutes on the year, and led all goalkeepers with a 1.01 goals against average. Garrett Bleiler also started a single game, and totaled 82 minutes on the season.
In the greater scope, West Chester ended up finishing in last place in the conference. In the PSAC playoffs, top seed Shippensburg (13-5-0, 6-3-0 PSAC) rolled Mercyhurst 5-0 to advance to the championship game. No. 2 seed East Stroudsburg (12-6-0, 6-3-0 PSAC) advanced into the final as well after a 1-0 win over Millersville.
In the championship game, Shippensburg beat East Stroudsburg 3-2 in a shootout following 110 minutes of soccer that ended in a 1-1 tie.
West Chester will look to make a playoff run of their own next season. Young stars like Malarney and Miller as well as other solid underclassmen in less glamorous positions will provide a solid foundation.
WCU loses only three seniors, according to team’s roster.
Many people say that momentum at the end of one season can carry a team into the next year. If there is any truth to this cliché, then West Chester is in good shape for the future.
Travis Pearson is a fourth-year student majoring in English. He can be reached at TP651537@wcupa.edu.