MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The dream of defending its PSAC tournament title from 2018 lives on for the Millersville men's soccer team after a 2-1 semifinal win over Mercyhurst advanced the team to the championship game for the second straight season.
 
As they have done frequently in 2019, the team had to come from a goal down after conceding in the 36^th minute. A turnover deep in Millersville's defensive third allowed Connor Wilkinson to gain possession and score to give Mercyhurst the 1-0 lead.
 
The Marauders struck back with just 29 seconds to go in the first half, when a flurry of activity in the penalty box ended with Matteo Adiletta equalizing and giving the team momentum heading into the second half. Another barrage of Millersville shots in the 80^th minute allowed Jacob Gosselin to score his 12^th goal of 2019 and fourth game-winning goal of the campaign.

Millersville advances to the PSAC championship game to face No. 5-ranked Gannon University, who earned a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over West Chester University in the other semifinal. The Marauders' back-to-back appearances in PSAC title games is a feat that has not been accomplished by a conference school since the Ville did so in both 2015 and 2016. The team has also played in four of the last five PSAC championship games.

Gannon and Millersville have met twice before in the PSAC tournament. The Marauders won a quarterfinal match 2-0 in 2016, while the Golden Knights secured a 2-0 semifinal result in 2017. Gannon has never won a PSAC championship while Millersville has won two.

The 2019 PSAC championship game kicks off this Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. at Pucillo Field on the campus of Millersville University. The Gannon Golden Knights enter the contest on an 11-game winning streak and look to deny the Marauders back-to-back PSAC men's soccer championships.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Mercyhurst was able to get on the board in the 36^th minute after a Millersville back pass was intercepted by Connor Wilkinson and gave him a clean look at goal. He tucked it inside the right post to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead.
• With time running out in the first half, Millersville's offense came alive. A Bob Hennessey cross from the right wing found Jacob Gosselin at the top of the box. He slid the ball over to Nathan Erb who fired a shot to force a diving save from Mercyhurst keeper Martin Jarc. The ball got away from Jarc and fell right to Matteo Adiletta, who pounced on the loose ball to equalize the game 1-1.
• The Millersville defense was threatened again in the 66^th minute, when Wilkinson again raced towards the goal. Darian McCauley came off his line to shut down the angle and left an open net behind him. The resulting shot would surely have found its way into the goal if not for Nathan Maynard making an incredible slide, getting his foot on the ball and forcing it to deflect off the post and out of play.
• In the 80^th minute Jacob Gosselin's relentlessness paid off. He received a throw-in towards the right side of the penalty box and he rocketed a shot that clanged off the right post but ricocheted right to Spencer Shortt. Shortt's follow-up effort was blocked by a Mercyhurst defender, but Gosselin had hustled into the penalty area and was there to turn and fire it right past the keeper to give the Marauders a 2-1 advantage.
• Darian McCauley made incredible saves all afternoon, but none more critical than one he made in the 86^th minute, snatching a bullet header from Alexander Paul out of the air in what was an incredible reaction save. Mercyhurst was unable to equalize and Millersville held on for the 2-1 victory.

POST GAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH STEVE WIDDOWSON
• On today's performance: "I think early on both teams were feeling each other out. It's a semifinal and neither team wants to open themselves up that much early on. In the second half we wanted to play at a higher tempo with higher energy, stay on the front foot and keep the pressure on them without exposing ourselves. At this stage it's about finding a way to win, no matter how you do it. No matter if you're the best team on the day or not, at the end of the day all that matters is what's on that scoreboard and thankfully it was our way today."
• On senior goalkeeper Darian McCauley's contribution: "There's a reason he's a captain, a senior, an All-Conference player and hopefully an All-Region player. He's been there and he's done it. Everyone has confidence in him. He made the big saves when it counts and that is the job and responsibility of being a number one keeper and a captain. At the end of the day he did his job, but he did it very well."
• On the promise of winning two straight titles: "The opportunity to win a back-to-back championship is extremely difficult. We analyzed it at the beginning of the spring, in every sport, at every level, you don't see many teams that repeat. Even getting back to the final is an incredible accomplishment for a young team like this. Over half of our team our freshmen and four of them started today. It's been a rocky road to get there but adversity makes you stronger and gives you that belief. We're just 90 minutes away from repeating."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Mercyhurst out-shot Millersville 18-13 and held a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks.
• Jacob Gosselin's goal was his 12^th of the season and 30^th point of the season. No Marauder has equaled or exceeded those totals since Jaime Vazquez's stellar 2015 season of 19 goals and 42 points.
• Matteo Adiletta's goal was his third of the season. Spencer Shortt's assist was his fifth of the season, the second-highest total on the team next to Gosselin's six assists.
• Gosselin and Nathan Erb tied for the team lead in shots with four apiece. Adiletta finished with three shots while Shortt finished witht wo.
• Marauders goalkeeper Darian McCauley made eight saves in the game.

NOTES
• The Millersville win moves the program's all-time record versus Mercyhurst to 7-9.

UP NEXT
• The Marauders host the 2019 PSAC championship game vs. Gannon University on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m.