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Millersville

Jaxson Burns
1
Winner Urbana UUM (13-4-2)
0
Millersville MILL-M (14-5-1)
Winner
Urbana UUM
(13-4-2)
1
Final
0
Millersville MILL-M
(14-5-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Urbana UUM 1 0 1
Millersville MILL-M 0 0 0

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Frank Maira, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Men’s Soccer Falls to Urbana Concluding a Memorable Season

Millersville, Pa. – An attacking second half wasn't enough for the Millersville men's soccer team as it finished its season on Pucillo Field. The Urbana Blue Knights scored the game-winner in the 36th minute and used sound defense holding off a late Marauder charge to defeat Millersville, 1-0 in the NCAA Second Round game on Saturday afternoon.

"It was a tough loss," said head men's soccer coach Steve Widdowson. "We came out of the gates a little slow and were timid with this being such a young team. But as the game went on we went from strength to strength and I think we did much better than Urbana in the second half, but we couldn't find a way to get the ball into the back of the net."

The Marauders conclude their season with a 14-5-1 record and were PSAC Runner-Up's while also qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time under Widdowson. Saturday's loss to the Blue Knights was Millersville's first ever home loss in a NCAA Regional Tournament matchup.

Down 1-0 with just over four minutes remaining, the Marauders nearly equalized when Devin Rediker made an outstanding run up the width of the field and initially fooled Blue Knight goalkeeper Nathan Jones with his shot attempt. However, Jones made a sprawling save preserving the Urbana lead. Seconds later a strong offensive build up led to a Justin Torres-Groover shot, but the ball dipped into the belly of Jones at the 86:59 mark.

"In the second half we definitely grew with confidence," added Widdowson. "I think we gained an understanding of what we could do with the ball and we were really clicking, but the final pass or shot just let us down in the end."

Urbana scored the game's lone goal in the 36th minute. Midfielder Raoui Lassourd played a through ball to teammate Ben Fitzpatrick who fired the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. Nathan Jones preserved the visitors lead finishing the match with four saves.

Millersville outshot the Blue Knights 11-4 in the second half and earned two corner kick attempts within the period. Goalkeeper Kohl Orner was outstanding in goal finishing the match with a game-high five saves. Orner concludes his career in the Black & Gold with the second most shutouts in a season (10). Senior's Jaime Vazquez and Ben Johnston capped off brilliant careers with the Ville as Vazquez is surely to be recognized with more postseason accolades after scoring 19 goals this season.

The Marauders have only reached the NCAA Tournament under Widdowson. The Sheffield, England native has guided the program to a 5-4-2 record in NCAA play and won the Atlantic Region in 2008 and 2011.

Optimism will surely be high again for the Marauders in 2016, with the Ville only losing three key contributors from this year's squad.

"We have to keep developing this group," stated Widdowson. "We only lose three seniors so most of the kids will be back and most of them are freshman and sophomores so we obviously have a fantastic foundation. We will look to continue the good work from this past year, build off of that and come back stronger and more experienced in 2016."
 
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Players Mentioned

Ben Johnston

#19 Ben Johnston

F
5' 9"
Senior
Kohl Orner

#00 Kohl Orner

GK
6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
Devin Rediker

#23 Devin Rediker

D
6' 2"
Junior
Jaime Vazquez

#15 Jaime Vazquez

F
5' 6"
Senior
Justin Torres-Groover

#9 Justin Torres-Groover

F
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Ben Johnston

#19 Ben Johnston

5' 9"
Senior
F
Kohl Orner

#00 Kohl Orner

6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
GK
Devin Rediker

#23 Devin Rediker

6' 2"
Junior
D
Jaime Vazquez

#15 Jaime Vazquez

5' 6"
Senior
F
Justin Torres-Groover

#9 Justin Torres-Groover

5' 10"
Freshman
F