Club teammates clash in West Chester derby

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Penn Fusion Academy has players starring at high schools through the greater Philadelphia area but when two West Chester High Schools clash it adds another layer to the rivalry between club teammates. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That happened Thursday night when West Chester East hosted West Chester Henderson. Penn Fusion standouts were on both sides of the field but it ended up being an overtime goal by a player who plays for another area club that broke a scoreless draw in double overtime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East senior and Penn Fusion midfielder <strong>Brendan Miller</strong> was sensational on the night, dominating the midfield, switching play and creating chances going forward. His corner kick led to the big moment of the night for senior <strong>Dahmir Steele</strong>, who plays club for FC Europa. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMiBmkKBPXE","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMiBmkKBPXE </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Chester Henderson's attack was led by Penn Fusion club-mates and seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='45500' first='Ryan' last='Kuegler']</strong> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMiBmkKBPXE"><strong>Joe DeAngelis</strong></a>. Kuegler is an entertaining player to watch; he's hard-working and fearless making runs through the middle of the field and doesn't appear to have an off switch. Though not his or his team's best night in terms of methodically breaking down the East defense, he still did a lot of work to keep East off the board through regulation. DeAngelis is a big target up front who was mostly kept in check by a solid East performance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In addition to Miller, sophomore midfielder <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='15300' first='Sawyer' last='Spiegel']</strong> is a young star in the making. Though he was licking his chops and blasted a big chance to win in regulation over the bar, his two-way play is exciting to watch and part of why he was honored with a conference player of the year award with Penn Fusion in ECNL play last season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Henderson center back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='15227' first='Lucas' last='Brown']</strong> (2024) was another Penn Fusion standout out there. Brown is a silky smooth defender who plays his position so well he makes it look easy. He made some great recoveries and clearances on the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were other Penn Fusion players on both teams but the ones mentioned were who stood out most in a game that was wildly entertaining despite the low school. While high school soccer doesn't compare to club when it comes to the collection of talent on the field at any given time, the drama, the battling student sections and the moments like the goal from Steele he will never forget are what make the time of year when fall arrives in full force so special. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->