Box Score
Photo Gallery
Millersville, Pa. — Senior goalkeeper
Matt Langione has been the last line of defense for many of the Millersville soccer program's finest moments over the last few seasons. On Sunday afternoon he added another accomplishment to his stellar career by picking up his 21st career shutout to break the program record as No. 17 Millersville routed Shepherd 4-0 at Chryst Field.
Langione entered the season tied for the top spot in career shutouts alongside Peter Yovino, but it didn't take very long for the York, Pa., product to stand alone. Aided by a second half goal onslaught from his teammates, Langione made two saves in his 42nd career victory. One of those saves came with under five seconds remaining, as he denied Josh Wise's attempt and then punched away the rebound to preserve the clean sheet.
Millersville's (1-0) offense was taken care of from all angles. Junior forward
Aaron Roland put the Marauders on the board for the season with a beautiful header that evaded Shepherd (1-1) keeper Edgar Lopez Zuniga in the 23rd minute. The play was set up by a
Justin Keefer cross and would prove to be the only tally of the first half.
The second half saw the Black and Gold do what it does best: score quickly.
Kyle Loughlin started a scoring barrage in the 53rd minute that saw the Marauders find the back of the net three times in less than 10 minutes. After MU was awarded a free kick, Roland tapped a pass to Loughlin who turned and fired a shot high to the right corner of the net. Lopez Zuniga couldn't even react to the perfectly placed shot.
Freshman
Andrew Dukes was up next at 59:13. Much like on the first Millersville goal of the day, Dukes' first collegiate goal was the result of some wonderful passing. Newcomer
Matt Kadoch headed the ball across the six-yard box to Dukes, who, in turn, headed it into the net. The hookup gave the Marauders a 3-0 lead.
Just 2:35 later,
Pat Baffuto collected a rebound and scored to make it 4-0. Kadoch, a transfer from Division I Siena, had his initial shot turned aside by Lopez Zungia, but the goalie couldn't recover from a sprawling save in time to deny Baffuto.
All told, the Marauders controlled a majority of Sunday's contest. The home team held a 15-4 advantage in shots and a 5-1 edge in corner kicks. Millersville continued to do the things that fourth-year head coach
Steve Widdowson has preached throughout his tenure at the school and the results showed. A steady offense once again manifested itself in the form of goals on the scoreboard, but much of that was a result of strong midfield and defensive play.
Jeremy Yoder and
John Claffey, Millersville's distinguished center back pairing, played composed and mistake-free soccer for most of the afternoon. Freshman
Colby Zeger drew a start in his first career game and looked like a seasoned veteran amongst his fellow, more-experienced back line mates.
The season-opening win was Millersville's third straight and 11th in the last 14 years. The Marauders are 11-0-3 in that span. The last time the program dropped an opener was in 1996 when William Paterson got the best of the Marauders by a 2-1 count.
The Marauders don't have much time to enjoy today's win, however. Next up is a Wednesday night road match against No. 13 Slippery Rock. The Rock upset Millersville 2-1 in the PSAC Championship game last fall. It's also a game that means even more this season as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has gone back to a one-division format. Wednesday night's game is the first of nine that comprise MU's 2010 conference slate. Game time from Slippery Rock is scheduled for 4 p.m.