ERIE, Pa. – The #7 men's soccer team advances to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship in a thrilling, 2-1, win over West Chester in double overtime off a goal from Jack Watson.
Despite outshooting the Golden Rams 39-3 in the contest, West Chester was able to score early in the second half on their first shot on goal. In the 53rd minute, Tommy Ryan received a pass from Christian Benner where he was able to generate a shot to beat Laker goalkeeper Nicolas Smith upper left for the, 1-0, lead.
West Chester had packed in their defensive third all game to try and contain the Mercyhurst strong offensive attack. They had success for 88 minutes until the Golden Rams were called for a foul in the box on senior defender Ryan Lund, which created a penalty shot opportunity. National assist leader Danny Deakin took the penalty shot at the 88:42 mark and converted, beating West Chester goalkeeper Matt Palmer bottom right to the tie the game, 1-1. It was Deakin's 11th goal on the season.
The intensity on the field immediately rose after West Chester's first goal, as there was five cards handed out between goals.
The sixth card would come in the first overtime period, where the Lakers generated four shots, one on goal, but were not able to capitalize with the heavily defended Golden Ram's box.
However, it would not take long for Mercyhurst to score in the second overtime, as national leading goal scorer Watson beat Palmer right side 54 seconds into the period. Fernando Martinez was awarded the assist, his eighth of the season. Watson now has 20 goals on the year and is closing in on the school record which is 24 set by Anthony Maher back in 2001.
The 39 shots was the most Mercyhurst has had in a single game since the 2004 season where they were able to produce 40.
West Chester's defensive tactics were unable to produce them a corner kick opportunity, as the Lakers held the advantage, 13-0. Palmer made ten saves on the Lakers' 39 shots.
Goalkeeper Smith was rewarded his first start since coming back from an injury. He recorded one save on the three West Chester shots, as he improves his record to 5-1-0 on the season.
