Brandywine Men’s Soccer Set For PSUAC Championship Showdown With York

MEDIA, Pennsylvania -- No. 1 Penn State Brandywine aims to win its second-straight Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference men's soccer championship when it battles No. 2 Penn State York on Wednesday at University Park. The match is set to kick off at 7:00 pm.

Brandywine (11-7) advanced to the title match after defeating Penn State Beaver 4-2 on Saturday night in the tournament semifinals. The Lions received goals from four different scorers and a stellar performance in goal from freshman Patrick O'Nell (Morton, Pa./Ridley), who made four saves.

Winners of five-straight games, Brandywine has tallied at least four goals in eight of its 11 victories this fall. The Lions boast an average of 3.7 goals per game, the highest total in the PSUAC and tied for seventh nationally. Sophomore Bill Walleekendeh (Chester, Pa./Chester) leads the Lions' potent offense with 23 goals and 51 total points, both the third-highest marks in the USCAA. Walleekendeh, who now has 23 goals during both of his seasons at Brandywine, upped his goal-scoring streak to five matches by netting the game-winning goal in Saturday's victory over Beaver.

Walleekendeh scored both Brandywine goals as the Lions narrowly escaped with a 2-1 victory at York when the teams met during the regular season just 11 days ago. He found the back of the net seconds before halftime and doubled the Lions' lead to 2-0 in the 55th minute. York's Fabian Vilca scored to cut the Brandywine edge to one during the 74th minute, but Brandywine managed to hold on for the one-goal triumph.

Each of the last four times Brandywine and York have met, the match has ended in a 2-1 score, with the road team winning all four games.

York advanced to the PSUAC championship game following a 1-0, double-overtime victory over third-seeded New Kensington on Saturday. Adam Beck scored the game winner during the 105th minute, while goalkeeper Paul Ambrose stopped the lone shot he faced to earn the shutout.

Ambrose has collected three of York's four shutouts this fall, while John Taylor (11G, 12A) owns York's scoring lead.

The winner of Wednesday's championship game will earn the PSUAC's automatic bid to the USCAA Tournament which begins November 5 in Charleston, West Virginia.