Millersville, Pa. - The Millersville men's soccer team returns five starters and eight total letter winners as the program looks to build on a 6-11-1 season during the upcoming 2015 campaign.
Jaime Vazquez is the lone returner that started in all 18 games under head coach
Steve Widdowson, who is entering his ninth season as the head coach of the Marauders. Widdowson enters the season with a 99-52-10 overall record and a 60-22-2 mark in the PSAC.
The Marauders will look to return to the PSAC Tournament as the 2014 season marked the first time under Widdowson that the Black & Gold didn't reach postseason play. With Widdowson at the helm, Millersville has made seven PSAC Tournament appearances, won two PSAC Eastern Division Championships, made four NCAA Tournament appearances and achieved two NCAA Atlantic Region Championships.
Defensively, the Marauders will be led by junior back
Devin Rediker, starter of 12 career games while also making 30 colligate appearances. Rediker scored his first colligate goal against Philadelphia University and registered an assist in the season finale of the 2014 season.
Potential partners along the defensive formation include sophomore
Ahmed Qaisi (13 starts in 2014), freshmen
Kyle Finsterbush,
Luc Durand-Zara,
Drew McMenamin and
Travis Spotts.
Millersville has three goalkeepers on the roster, all of whom are in contention for the starting spot. Senior
Kohl Orner made eight starts last year with a 0.94 goals against average, including three shutouts against Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg and Pitt-Johnstown. Freshman
Thomas Black a Cedar Crest High School product and freshman
Samuel Manning will also compete for the starting role.
Back from last year's squad is the offensive-minded quartette of
Jaime Vazquez,
Christopher Sosa,
Jesse Zimmerman and
Ben Johnston. The Marauders were 5-0-1 when Vazquez scored a goal, and he finished the season eighth in the PSAC with 18 points. Johnston battled various injuries for most of last season and looks to return to his 2013 form where he smashed the Marauder record for assists in a season with 14 helpers. Sosa has started 30 career games to date and looks to build off of his three goals scored a season ago.
Jesse Zimmerman made an immediate impact as a freshman appearing in all 18 games and finishing second on the team in points with 10 points.
Millersville's schedule begins with a home game against Holy Family on Thursday, September 3 at 5 p.m., the first game of an opening day doubleheader of Black & Gold athletics. The Marauders will play six non-conference games, including two more at home, also hosting Adelphi (Sept. 12) and Goldey-Beacom (Oct. 1).
PSAC action opens Wednesday, September 9 with a trip to Bloomsburg. The 2015 home PSAC slate includes matches against East Stroudsburg (Sept. 15), West Chester (Sept. 29), Lock Haven (Oct. 7), California (Pa.) (Oct. 10), Seton Hill (Oct. 24) and defending PSAC champion Mercyhurst (Oct. 31).
The Marauders were picked to finish fifth in the PSAC and must secure a top-six regular season finish to secure a PSAC Tournament spot. Kickoff against Holy Family is slated for 5 p.m. at Pucillo Field.
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