SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's soccer team played to its third consecutive draw on Wednesday, concluding a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) battle with West Chester in a 1-1 tie on an extremely windy afternoon at David See Field.
 
Shippensburg (9-2-3, 5-1-3 PSAC) and West Chester (9-2-3, 6-1-2) engaged in a possession battle for much of the contest, as the two teams combined for just nine total shots on goal. The first half was mostly even, while the second half was territorially in the visitor's favor. SU countered in overtime, however, with the majority of the possession.
 
Freshman Julian Horstmann headed home a goal for the second straight match. On Wednesday, he headed home a corner kick from senior Cole Kropnick in the 28th minute for his third goal of the season.
 
With just 4:20 remaining in the first half, a pair of WCU substitutes combined to even the score, as Colin Muller finished a cross from Shane Hartey for his second goal of the season.
 
Each team had a marvelous chance for a second goal in the match. In the 63rd minute, Golden Ram leading scorer Doug Goitia headed a corner kick off the post. Three minutes into the second overtime, Kropnick had a header at point-blank range that was stopped by WCU keeper Will Marshall.
 
Senior Garret Watson made four saves for Shippensburg, while Marshall had three for the visitors – including two in overtime. Corner kicks were 8-4 in favor of the Golden Rams.
 
Prior to the match, both teams were slotted in the first edition of the Atlantic Region rankings that are used to determine the qualifying teams for the NCAA playoffs. West Chester was ranked No. 2, and Shippensburg was ranked No. 4. The full rankings are available here: https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-men/d2/regional-rankings.
 
West Chester clinched a berth in the PSAC Tournament with Wednesday's result. Gannon (21 points) and West Chester (20 points) are ahead of Shippensburg (18 points) and East Stroudsburg (18 points), with the Raiders holding a tiebreaker of the Warriors for third place by virtue of a head-to-head win.
 
Millersville (17 points), Seton Hill (13 points), Slippery Rock (13 points) and Mercyhurst (11 points) are also among the teams in the mix. The Top 6 teams will qualify for the PSAC Tournament, with the Top 2 seeds earning byes into the semifinals.
 
UP NEXT: Saturday, 1 p.m. at Mercyhurst.