Millersville, Pa. -- Senior Marcus Frangakis and junior Chase Flickinger netted two goals a piece to beat No. 21 Mercyhurst 4-1 as Millersville exorcised some of its demons and avenged their loss to the Lakers in the 2016 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship. No.11 Millersville earned its first victory over Mercyhurst since 2013 and its second victory over a ranked opponent this season.

Sophomore Nicholas Leinbach was the spark plug early for Millersville's offense. He went down with an apparent injury in the opening five minutes, but fortunately for Millersville, he was able to walk it off and reenter the game. In the seventh minute, Leinbach crossed the ball in from the right wing and Flickinger headed the ball into the back of the net. Eight minutes later, the ball was crossed into the box, and Leinbach headed it into the air to the waiting feet of Frangakis. Frangakis easily put it past the keeper to double Millersville's lead.

The game stabilized for a short period of time before Flickinger netted his second goal. Freshman Nathan Maynard chipped the ball well short of midfield to Flickinger who played the ball off his chest and ahead of him. The Mercyhurst keeper was off his line, and Flickinger easily chipped the ball over his head to earn his fourth goal of the season.

Mercyhurst's Christopher Makengo was determined to break his team's drought in the 44th minute and could not be dispossessed. He dribbled from the left wing to the center edge of the box while passing multiple Millersville defenders before ruining sophomore Darian McCauley's bid for a fifth clean sheet.

Mercyhurst had their offensive opportunities in the second half, and McCauley was nothing short of brilliant as the sophomore made five crucial saves to keep the game out of reach for the Lakers. In the 81st minute, Flickinger put a shot on target that could have earned him a hat trick, but the Mercyhurst keeper deflected the shot off his hands. However, waiting for the rebounded ball was Frangakis who blasted a shot back past the keeper and into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season.

Mercyhurst's composure degraded in the waning minutes of the game as Andrew Bennett earned a straight red card from the official after fouling a Millersville player. Both teams registered 16 fouls a piece, but the Millersville players did well to not take Mercyhurst's bait as the Lakers tried to swing momentum.

Millersville improved to 8-2-1 and 4-2-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Marauders sit in third place in the conference standings tied with East Stroudsburg, but they hold a tiebreaker over the Warriors after winning in double overtime at East Stroudsburg earlier this season. Millersville currently are four points behind second-place Gannon University in the conference standings. Despite Millersville losing to PSAC leader West Chester University Wednesday, Millersville's place in the national rankings should be less affected after their decisive victory over nationally ranked Mercyhurst. The Marauders can expect to see West Chester join them in the national rankings this week as the Golden Rams are 8-2-1 overall and a perfect 6-0 in conference play.

The Marauders play out-of-conference opponent Jefferson University, formerly Philadelphia University, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. A win against Jefferson will greatly improve Millersville's NCAA tournament bid as the Rams are currently 8-2-1 and are the eighth ranked team in the Atlantic region of the US Soccer Coaches Poll.