PSAC Championship Live Stats (Courtesy SRU)

Listen Live (Courtesy SRU)

Millersville, Pa. — Saturday evening marks a return to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship game for the No. 1 Millersville Marauders, as they travel to N. Kerr Thompson Stadium in Slippery Rock to meet the 12th-ranked Rock. The Marauders will be looking to bring home the program's first ever conference title when the action gets underway at 6 p.m.

Millersville (17-1) is making its second straight appearance in the championship game. After rolling to an 8-0 record in the PSAC East, the Marauders opened the conference playoffs with their third 2-0 blanking of Bloomsburg this season. Millersville will be making its sixth showing in the PSAC title game all-time, but has come up short on all five previous occasions. Last season the Marauders hosted the title game, but a furious rally by California (Pa.) in the final 20 minutes gave the Vulcans a 3-2 win.

Slippery Rock (16-3-1) returns to the conference final for the first time since 2005 after downing Mercyhurst, the PSAC West's number one seed, on Wednesday afternoon. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie up in Erie, before The Rock advanced 6-5 on penalty kicks. The Rock has been to the PSAC Championship game six times prior, winning titles in 1974 and 2005. SRU appeared in four straight title games from 1973-1976, facing East Stroudsburg three times in that span.

N. Kerr Thompson Stadium has not been a friendly place for visiting teams to play lately. Slippery Rock hasn't lost in its last five contests at the venue, dating back to Sept. 23, 2008. The team splits its home contests between Thompson Stadium and the James W. Egli Soccer Field. To emerge victorious, Millersville will need a balanced attack, which has been synonymous with its success this season. The Marauders field five double-digit scorers, led by Kyle Loughlin (12 goals, 5 assists, 29 points). Sophomore Pat Baffuto, MU's second-leading scorer, is second on the team in goals with six and is the team's co-leader in assists with five. Aaron Roland, Millersville native Matt Wilson, and Dan Prian round out the double-digit scorers.

Backstopping Millersville is Matt Langione. Langione was named 2008 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Most Outstanding Defensive Player and has been exceptional when called upon this season. The junior has a whopping 11 shutouts, leading the PSAC in that category and in goals against average (0.63). Langione has big game experience, which could prove to be vital on Saturday night, but he doesn't usually see a ton of shots, thanks in large part to the play of the defensive four in front of him. Thomas Bargmann, John Claffey, Jeremy Yoder, and Adam Keller have done a wonderful job in limiting the amount of balls opposing teams get on goal. Working together goalkeeper and defense have allowed just 11 goals in 18 games.

Slippery Rock was defeated in the 2008 PSAC Semifinals by eventual champion, Cal, but the team is no stranger to big games. The Rock advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional last season before falling to Millersville, 1-0, at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium. Slippery Rock went to Millersville and defeated the Marauders 2-1 on Sept. 27, in the teams' only other matchup last season.

As Jeremy Deighton goes, so go The Rock. Deighton, the reigning PSAC West Men's Soccer Athlete of the Year, leads the team with 16 goals and 6 assists (38 points). He's got a 23 point gap on the team's second leading scorer, Benjamin Lloyd. Slippery Rock boasts four double-digit scorers of its own, with Kenneth Fultz (12 points) and Toby Bowser (11 points) completing the group.

Greg Blum has been on his game in goal for The Rock all season long. Blum has a 0.77 goals against average and eight shutouts in 19 games, while stopping over 84-percent of the 91 shots he's faced.

Third-year head coach Steve Widdowson mans the Millersville sideline. Widdowson has compiled a record of 46-12-2 (.783) since taking over the program. The native of Sheffield, England was named PSAC East Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons with the Marauders. Slippery Rock is led by Matt Thompson, who is in his eighth year at the helm. A fellow Englishman, Thompson guided The Rock to their most recent PSAC title and is the reigning PSAC West Coach of the Year. He has produced 82 wins during his tenure at SRU, to date.

Students from PSAC institutions that provide a valid ID will be admitted to Saturday's game free of charge. All other student tickets are $2 and adult tickets are $7. Slippery Rock will provide live stats and streaming audio of the game, with both being accessible by clicking on the links at the top of the story.