West Chester United advances to NPSL conference final after gritty 1-0 victory

10-man West Chester United earned a hard fought 1-0 victory over Electric City Shock of Scranton on Thursday night. Drexel alum Yassine Elkahloun scored the lone goal of the match in the first half, proving to be enough to move West Chester on to the second round.

Electric City Shock received the last playoff bid in the Keystone West Division of NPSL in which West Chester finished first. Despite being the underdog, Electric City looked confident to start the match and did well to limit the West Chester attack and the prolific Ridge Robinson. The breakthrough came in the 40^th minute when midfielder Tomas Ascoli played Dylan Lacy in behind, who drove in a low cross that was finished by Elkahloun.

A chaotic second half saw Elkahloun go off injured in the 50^th minute. In the 73^rd minute, both West Chester fullbacks Charles Wilson and John Ricks were booked for dissent following a foul far from the West Chester goal. This turned out to be costly, as Wilson received a second yellow in the 82^nd minute and was sent off. West Chester was able to fend off a flurry of late chances, winning the match 1-0 and advancing to the division final. West Chester will host the Ukrainian Nationals in the final, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, July 12.