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Millersville

Ryan Kiley - PSAC Championship

Men's Soccer

Marauders Lose Heartbreaker to Vulcans in PSAC Championship

Box Score

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Millersville, Pa. - California midfielder Justin Taucher fired a shot from 22 yards out with just under 12 minutes to play that beat Millersville goalkeeper Matt Langione and sent the Vulcans to their first ever Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Saturday afternoon at Chryst Field Biemesderfer Stadium.  The Vulcans 3-2 win ended a nine-game winning streak for No. 5 Millersville and kept the record-setting squad from claiming the school's first ever PSAC title.

Millersville (16-3) awaits its fate this Monday when the team will learn where it will travel and who it will face in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. In this past week's NCAA regional rankings, Millersville held the number one spot and has made a strong bid to host the first two rounds of the Atlantic Regional. 

California (13-7-2) entered today's contest never having won a conference title.  The Vulcans had reached the championship game in five of the past eight seasons but fell short each time.

Millersville wasted no time getting started as Kyle Loughlin, the hero from Wednesday's semifinal overtime victory over East Stroudsburg, delivered a pass to the team's leading scorer, Sean McLaughlin, for the game's first score just four minutes in.  The goal by McLaughlin was the 33rd of his career, moving him into sole possession of fourth place on the school's all-time scoring list.

Cal answered six minutes later when midfielder Jeremy Blymiller collected a loose ball in front of the net and punched it in to even the score a one a piece.  Blymiller's goal was his eighth of the season.

 The two team's managed little offense after the Vulcan's first score, as Cal goalkeeper Derek Yobbi made just two saves in the half while Langione finished the half with one.  

Millersville controlled the clock early in the second half registering five shots in the first ten minutes before midfielder Pat Baffuto was able to break the tie with his seventh goal of the season in the 58th minute.  Senior Matthew Procopio chipped a ball from midfield into the box and Loughlin's ensuing touch pass left Baffuto open for the easy score.  Loughlin finished the tournament with a goal and three assists.

The Marauders continued to put pressure on the Vulcan defense as they fired 11 shots in the second half but could not convert on several scoring opportunities.

Cal knotted the game again at two when midfielder Sede Wilson bicycle kicked a ball off the hands of Langione and junior Nick Helbig headed in the rebound with just under 20 minutes to play.

Just over seven minutes later, after Millersville attempted to clear a ball deep in its own zone, Taucher intercepted the pass and pounded home his first goal of the season to give the Vulcans their first lead of the contest.

Millersville did not go quietly and was seemingly motivated by a red card issued to Cal's leading scorer, Mike Luecke, in the 81st minute that caused the visitors to have to play down a man throughout the game's final minutes.

The Marauders fired three shots from within six yards of Yobbi in the game's waning moments but the tournament's MVP stopped each one of them to secure the win for the Vulcans.  Yobbi finished with five saves for Cal.

Despite the loss, Millersville has already eclipsed the school record for wins in a season and has achieved the highest ranking in school history.  The team will look to add to the win total next week and will await their fate Monday night at the selection show.  The show can be viewed by clicking here and will begin at 7 p.m.
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