WCU advances in NCAA tournament

Senior Brett Glasco, a West Chester Rustin graduate, tallied the game winner to lift West Chester past East Stroudsburg, 2-1, in double overtime of the second round of the Division II NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament on Saturday.

Glasco’s goal in the 106th minute of action marked the first NCAA victory for West Chester’s program since 1967. West Chester ironically enough beat East Stroudsburg in that match to advance to the next round as well.

“I told Nico [Meola] to do what exactly what he did earlier and it landed in the right spot again and I was able to finish it,” said Glasco. “We have a great group of guys who are willing to work hard for each other.”

West Chester (14-2-2) trailed for the majority of the match as East Stroudsburg’s (12-4-2) Brandon Levano converted a penalty kick to give the Warriors a 1-0 advantage at 23:18. However, the Golden Rams kept attacking the net.

Late in the second half, Glasco set up sophomore Brett Miller who scored in front of the box. His shot went past a diving effort by East Stroudsburg’s Will Boerema. That goal sent the match in overtime and eventually double overtime. The pair of teams were used to this after having gone to penalty kicks a week prior in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament.

In double overtime, Glasco raced down the near sideline of Rockwell Field. He fired a shot past a diving Boerema to complete the comeback for the Golden Rams.

“Great way to get a goal at the end of regulation by Brett Miller and Glasco was in a great spot,” said head coach Michael Been. “A senior captain should finish those goals for you to win NCAA tournament games.”

Matt Palmer made three saves in the contest. His 13-1-2 record ties Andrew Shafear (2004) for the most wins in a single season as a goalkeeper. DeeDee Irwin came off the bench to score nine points -all on three-pointers, while Brianna Logan) added eight points and a game-high seven assists.