Millersville Men’s soccer continues to roll as the season presses on. They have now won four straight and five out of their last six games since dismantling then-ranked fourth in the nation, East Stroudsburg, 4-1. The Marauders came out strong early and controlled most of the game throughout the big victory against their conference foes and while doing so, pushed their way into first place in the PSAC East.
Coach Widdowson had this to say about the performance, “It was big for us. We were 17th in the nation; they were fourth. We took control early and thoroughly deserved the result. It was a dominating performance by our guys.”
Not only has the team slid up the rankings dramatically, first in the region and eighth in the nation, the individual components to the team have also been recognized. In fact, three members of the team, seniors Sean McLaughlin, Ryan Kiley, and Matt Procopio were named PSAC player of the week, in successive weeks. McLaughlin received his honor due to his four goal week, including one in the huge upset against East Stroudsburg.
Followed by McLaughlin was Kiley, who helped the Marauders beat their first PSAC West appointment, California (Pa.), by scoring the game winner. Procopio is the most recent recipient of the award. He had two assists including the game winner against West Chester, maintaining the team’s undefeated record in the conference.
This, once again, expresses the importance of team play and how much Millersville relies on the entire unit instead of just one superstar.
The apparent never-say-die attitude the team possesses proved most vital in the team’s most recent victory over West Virginia Wesleyan.
Millersville fought hard for the first and only goal of the opening half from senior Matt Procopio. Shortly after the second half commenced the Marauder’s freshman Pat Baffuto found the back of the net, seemingly giving Millersville a comfortable 2-0 lead. However, that lead quickly diminished and the game stumbled into extra time.
Sophomore goalkeeper, Matt Langoine had a tremendous overtime keeping his team within striking distance and enabling McLaughlin to tuck home the last minute game winner.
“Teams are out to get us and everyone wants to knock us off. Every game is a battle for us and the games are getting scrappy. Each game feels like we are in a playoff game and we are coping with the struggles, displaying our true character in battles like the West Virginia Wesleyan game. We are getting accustomed to these genuine style playoff games and that should help us as we try to reach our expectations,” said Coach Widdowson.
The Marauders look to stay focused on the upcoming conference schedule and hold off the other PSAC East contenders, claiming the conference title. It will definitely be a tough, competitive road for Millersville and Widdowson is persistently searching for ways to improve at each and every practice.
His major concern heading forward consists of defensive execution. He feels that the team can improve in this area and eliminate some of the defensive leaks that enable teams to linger around deep into games.
“Overall, the PSAC is our main concentration and we need to keep playing extremely well if we are to win the conference. Our expectations also look forward to the NCAA tournament. We obviously want to win the conference, but if we don’t, I believe we have done a good job at establishing an insurance policy with how well our results have turned out and have a great chance at an at-large bid,” expressed Coach Widdowson.
The Marauders next host Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday October 18, at 1 p.m. They need to be sure not to overlook the next few games, as the big rematch against East Stroudsburg looms on the horizon.
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