Box Score

Millersville, Pa. — On the strength of three second half goals, the fifth-ranked Millersville men's soccer team frustrated and overwhelmed visiting East Stroudsburg, 4-0, on Wednesday night at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium.

The road to victory wasn't going to be easy for Millersville (8-1, 5-0 PSAC East) on this night. The offenses of both teams found scoring chances few and far between. The Marauders went in search of clinching their third straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff berth, but the Warriors (3-6-1, 1-3-1 PSAC East), who have uncharacteristically struggled this season, fought hard to remain a PSAC playoff hopeful.

The Black and Gold opened the scoring in the 29th minute with some unlikely help from East Stroudsburg. Warriors' defender Suane McLeish sent a high-arching ball back towards his own goal from about 20 yards out, but the errant kick sailed over the head of keeper Larry Pokrywa and into the net for an own goal. The Marauders would not add to that lead the rest of the period, carrying a 1-0 advantage into halftime.

The second half, however, was a different story. Millersville native Matt Wilson put the Marauders up a pair on an unassisted goal at 56:19 and the East Stroudsburg frustration started to mount. ESU's Jeremy Cheeseman was given a yellow card after the goal and the Warriors' upset chances dimmed.

Millersville padded its lead, as its quick striking offense got after ESU twice in a span of 3:59. First Aaron Roland headed home a corner kick from Steve Melnick at 69:17 to make it 3-0. Leading-scorer Kyle Loughlin then had his initial shot stopped by Pokrywa, but was in great position to head in the rebound at 73:16. Thomas Bargmann added a helper on the goal, which ran the lead to 4-0.

"We wore them down the way we wanted to," said Millersville head coach Steve Widdowson. "Our boys stuck to the system and our fitness and depth was too much for them to counter. We just never let up." Never let up is a bit of an understatement. Millersville fired 10 shots in the first half and 12 in the second for a game total of 22 (13 on goal). ESU, meanwhile, managed just 10 shots all night (4 on goal), after not recording a single shot on goal in the teams' last meeting back on Sept. 2.

Marauder keeper Matt Langione registered four saves in earning his sixth shutout of the season, while his counterpart, Pokrywa, made nine saves, including a few of the spectacular variety.

"We outlined a number of goals at the beginning of the season and getting back to the PSAC playoffs was obviously one of those goals," noted Widdowson. "Now we have a chance to build on some of our others. A win Saturday would ensure that we finish above .500 and it's another chance for us to show the Western Division who we are and the way we can play."

Saturday's game is a 1 p.m. tilt in Erie against second-year PSAC member Gannon. The Marauders face another road test next Tuesday at Bloomsburg, which currently holds down the second playoff spot in the PSAC East. MU will return home a week from Saturday with an Oct. 10 game against Wheeling Jesuit.