PSAC Championship Live Stats

PSAC Championship Audio Broadcast

Box Score

Millersville, Pa. — Kyle Loughlin has been a key component to the Marauder offense all season long, but has flown under the radar on a team that does not lack in the scoring department. Wednesday afternoon, however,  Loughlin made his presence loud and clear by banging home a rebound 48 seconds into overtime to down East Stroudsburg 3-2 and send the No. 5 Millersville men's soccer team to its first PSAC Championship game since 2002.

The Marauders (16-2) looked to be running on all cylinders early. Freshman Pat Baffuto deflected a shot from Sean McLaughlin past Warriors' keeper Larry Pokrywa 2:47 into the game and Millersville jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead. Senior Ryan Kiley also picked up an assist on Baffuto's sixth goal of the season.

East Stroudsburg (15-6), the two-time defending PSAC Champion, was hardly ready to end its reign at the top without a battle. The Warriors responded just under five minutes later when Jason Shegda took a pass from Toric Robinson and connected on a running header that beat Marauder keeper Matt Langione to knot the game at one.

The game remained tightly contested throughout the first half with East Stroudsburg registering six shots to Millersville's four. The two sides headed to halftime unable to break the 1-1 tie.

Millersville would dramatically regain the lead in the 79th minute with an unlikely goal from reserve midfielder Luis Guerrero. After struggling to create offensive chances throughout the second half, Millersville finally found itself with an offensive attack. Pokrywa came out of his goal trying to break up a ball being sent in by the Marauders, but mistakenly played the ball with his hands outside the box. Millersville wasted no time in setting up the free kick and the Warriors were too slow in getting defensive help back. The result was a quick touch pass from Loughlin to Guerrero off the free kick and the unmarked freshman beat Pokrywa from just inside the 18 with a shot that found the lower left corner of the net. For Guerrero, the goal was the first of his career in a Millersville uniform and gave him his first points of the season.

The Marauders then tried to hang on in the final 10 minutes of the game as they continued to play balls deep into the Warriors' zone and eat up clock. McLaughlin used some outstanding individual ball possession in helping Millersville manage the clock. Unfortunately for the Marauders, all it took was one rush from the Warriors to turn the game around.

A crossing feed from Roshane Ellison was knocked around in the box before settling at the feet of Shegda, who calmly deposited it past Langione to tie the game at two with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. Toric Robinson picked up his second helper of the game on Shegda's second goal of the day.

As the two teams headed to the overtime period, Robinson went down with an injury. The game was delayed for almost 30 minutes while the East Stroudsburg midfielder was tended to.

If there were any questions on how the teams would respond following the half hour stoppage, they were quickly thwarted by the Marauders. McLaughlin took a shot from just inside the left side of the 18, which Pokrywa could not handle cleanly. Loughlin was there to collect the rebound and put it home to send the Marauders to the PSAC Championship. Loughlin's sixth goal of the season earned him a mobbing from his teammates.

The Marauders now get set to host the PSAC Championship for the first time in school history. Millersville will take on the California (Pa.) Vulcans (12-7-2), a 3-1 winner over Slippery Rock in the other PSAC Semifinal match. In the only other meeting between the two schools this season, it was the Marauders who emerged victorious with a 3-2 win in Millersville back on October 4.

The PSAC Championship game gets underway at 1 p.m., on Saturday afternoon at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium. Tickets are $7 for adults, $2 for students, and free for anyone with a state institution I.D.

Fans who cannot make it out to Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium on Saturday are encouraged to follow along online. The Marauders Sports Broadcasting Network (MSBN) will have live audio coverage of the game. Fans can also enjoy live stats from millersvilleathletics.com by clicking here.