Amateur
West Chester United fall in Hank Steinbrecher Cup Final
West Chester United got out to an early lead but could not hold it in the Hank Steinbrecher Cup Final on Friday night, falling to Vermont Green FC by a 4-1 scoreline. Gavin Wetzel scored the opener on an assist by Caden Grabfelder, but Vermont responded with four uninterrupted goals to claim the title.
The Hank Steinbrecher Cup is a tournament between the champions of the USL2 Champions, the UPSL Champions, the NPSL Champions, the USASA Champions, and the USSSA Champions, serving as an American amateur cup-winners’ cup. West Chester United qualified as USASA Amateur Cup Champions. After a blowout win in the semifinal against Azteca FC of Colorado, the Predators earned a trip to Virtue Field for a shot at more silverware.
West Chester started the match on the front foot. On an early corner kick, Caden Grabfelder found his Pitt teammate Gavin Wetzel unmarked, and Wetzel headed the ball past the Vermont goalkeeper for an early 1-0 lead.
From there, however, it was all Vermont Green. Vermont midfielder and Berwyn, PA native Ryan Zellefrow dribbled through the West Chester midfield and found former Penn State winger Samson Kpardeh. Kpardeh dribbled past Tanner Brentlinger before squaring a low cross to Marco dos Santos, who tapped in for the equalizer in the 8th minute. The match would go into halftime with a 1-1 score.
At halftime, West Chester head coach Blaise Santangelo made a few changes to the team, introducing goalkeeper Tino Kneis for Jonathan Evans and replacing Brentlinger with Shawn Tanaka. In the 60th minute, a Vermont Green corner taken by Riley Moloney curled towards Kneis in the goal. Due to traffic in the six-yard box, Kneis could not get a touch on the ball, and the corner kick went straight into the net to give Vermont Green a 2-1 lead.
From there, Vermont used their advantage to punish West Chester even more on the counter. Diego Rosas scored to make it 3-1, and Martin Bakken scored a fourth goal late in stoppage time on an assist from Moloney. The referee blew the final whistle just after, and Vermont Green claimed the Hank Steinbrecher Cup in dominant fashion, winning the final 4-1.
