As the playoffs approach, the Millersville Men’s Soccer team could not be playing any better. Over their last five games, the Marauders have out-scored their opponents 11-1, including a 2-1 PSAC East victory over West Chester and four non-conference shutouts against Wheeling Jesuit, University of the District of Columbia, Shepherd, and most recently West Virginia Wesleyan.
You could also call this Marauder team road warriors, as they have been simply unstoppable on the road, outside of their lone loss to Wilmington. Included in their 7-1 road record are victories over four teams that are either ranked nationally or regionally by the NSCAA. This Marauder team will surely have a target on its back heading into the post-season with its No. 2 National rank, and No. 1 Atlantic Regional rank.
As the season has progressed the Marauders have outshot their opponents 252 to 107 and outscored them a whopping 39 to 9. The leading scorers for the Marauders heading into their final regular season game against Shippensburg are: Kyle Loughlin with 25 points (10G, 5A), Pat Baffuto with 14 points (5G, 4A), and Aaron Roland with 10 points (5G, 0A).
You also cannot forget about goaltender Matt Langione. Langione is 15-1 on the year, allowing 0.59 goals per game, with 12 shutouts. The team is also nationally ranked in team goals against per game (0.65), and shutout percentage (0.71) at tenth and third respectively.
All season with the exception of a few games, Millersville has done a great job in putting away their opponents early. One exception is the Wilmington game, spectators saw the Marauders lose an overtime heartbreaker to a team it could very well have to beat in the NCAA tournament. The other would have to be their 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Gannon in early October.
Soon after that Gannon game, midfielder Baffuto was asked about the mood of that locker room at halftime and how the tight game can prepare them for the rest of the season, “Coach was calm at the half. He just walked into the locker room and said ‘I’m not going to freak out and panic because you guys know what needs to get done and I know you can do it.’ That statement was enough to inspire us to go back out and win. I also think that if we can go the rest of the season undefeated we can lock up the first seed in our region for NCAAs which will give us home field and allows us to play these huge games in front of our fans.”
The Marauders have one more regular season game to keep the push for home field alive and the PSAC playoffs. So far Millersville, Mercyhurst, and Slippery Rock have qualified with the second East spot still up for grabs with Bloomsburg likely to hold that spot with a six point lead over East Stroudsburg with two to play. Playoffs are fast approaching for your Marauders, come out and support their playoff run.
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