Box Score

Photo Gallery: PSAC Semifinal vs. Bloomsburg

Millersville, Pa. — Nearly five hours on a bus. Not going to be a problem. It's a trip the top-ranked Millersville men's soccer will be happy to make, because the ride takes them to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Men's Soccer Championship Game. The Marauders knocked home two second half goals to get past Bloomsburg, 2-0, in a PSAC Semifinal contest at Chryst Field on Wednesday night, advancing to their second straight conference title game in the process.

Being the underdog didn't deter the Huskies (10-6-2), who came out thinking upset. Bloomsburg hung with the Marauders throughout the first half, but it was Millersville (17-1) that controlled play at the BU end of the field for a majority of the period. "We came out and contested well right off the bat. We knew we were going to get their best shot and even though we were controlling the game, we had some bad touches and couldn't put that final pass together," explained Millersville head coach Steve Widdowson. Not being able to connect on that final pass left the Marauders in a scoreless tie heading to halftime. Bloomsburg actually wound up with a 3-2 shot advantage heading to the break, but the shots on goal were even at one apiece.

Jeremy Yoder quickly ensured that the Black and Gold would have no trouble in making the final pass in the second half. Freshman Adam Keller's corner kick caromed off of a body to Yoder, who sent a beautiful slide-pass across the six-yard box to a wide-open Kyle Loughlin for a 1-0 lead 53 seconds into the second half. "Anytime you can get a goal off of a set piece, which we did with the corner, it's always good, especially at this point of the season," said Widdowson. The goal was Loughlin's 12th of the season and turned out to be his sixth game-winning goal of 2009.

Breathing room came off the foot of Pat Baffuto nearly 12 minutes later. The speedy sophomore, who was snakebitten on a few first half chances, took a pass from classmate Dan Prian and blasted a shot by Huskies' keeper David Leindecker (three saves) for a 2-0 edge. For Baffuto, it was tally number six on the year and marked a bit of irony for the Marauders. Loughlin and Baffuto scored goals in the PSAC Semifinal for the second straight season, as both tallied in last year's opening-round 3-2 victory over East Stroudsburg.

Bloomsburg refused to go down without a fight, literally. The game featured 33 fouls, 12 coming from the Huskies in the second half. The Marauders defense was suffocating once again, however, and Bloom was never able to sustain offensive pressure. Millersville keeper Matt Langione (two saves) registered his 11th shutout of the season, one shy of the PSAC single-season record. As a team, MU added to its school-record for shutouts in a season, picking up number 13.

Millersville extended its winning streak to 12 games and has now scored at least one goal in its last 40 games, dating back to the last game of the 2007 season.

The Marauders now look for some redemption in the PSAC title game, where they will face a Slippery Rock (16-3-1) team that advanced to its first PSAC Championship Game since 2005 by beating Mercyhurst in penalty kicks earlier in the day. The Rock is ranked 12th in the latest NSCAA/adidas Division II National Poll. It's a matchup Widdowson is looking forward to. "This is a good chance to see where we're at. They're a great team and there's a chance we could see them again. They know where we're dangerous and where we're weak, and we know that about them too. These are the two best teams in the PSAC right now and that's what you want," he said. This will be the second trip to the title game in as many years for Millersville and the program's sixth conference championship game all-time. Last season California (Pa.) rallied late to steal a 3-2 win in the title game.

Saturday's game at Slippery Rock will be held at Thompson Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. Check back to www.millersvilleathletics.com for continuing coverage of the PSAC Men's Soccer Championship, including a game preview, ticket prices and media coverage details.