The 20 most memorable and outstanding teams, athletes and moments of the last 20 years (No. 5-1)

As the curtain falls on 2020, Millersville University’s athletic communications staff looked back at the last 20 years and counted 14 PSAC Championships and more than 70 All-Americans for the Marauders. But championships and awards become titles, trophies, and words on a wall. There are real people with fantastic stories and accomplishments that are too frequently overlooked or forgotten--lost to history and later discovered as a faceless name on a list. It’s time to remember 20 of the most memorable and outstanding teams, athletes and moments of the last 20 years. 

Admittedly, this list is arbitrary and likely incomplete. There is no formula or criteria to share. Making the cut at 20, loads of worthy teams and athletes are left off the list. That doesn’t make those accomplishments any less meaningful. It’s impossible to compare a team championship to a record-setting career to a one-game, one-day performance. This list isn’t about an official ranking. It’s about memories. 

Here's a look at the countdown so far…

20. Nearly Perfect to Perfection (Chris Murphy, 2013)

19. A Remarkable Rise (2018 Women's Soccer)

18. Recording-Setting Careers Cut Off by a Pandemic (Faith Willenbrock and Lauren Lister, 2020)

17. Records Made to Be Broken (Liz Weekley and Sabrina Fusco, 2008/2018)

16. An Unlikely Champion (2005 Women's Golf)

15. A Match to Remember (2019 Women's Volleyball)

14. No One Could Have Called It (2008 Baseball)

13. The Parker-Testa Connection and Finding the Pieces to the Puzzle (2006-07 Men's Basketball)

12. Marauders Catch Fire (2004-05 Women's Basketball)

11. Twice as Nice (2019 Men's Soccer)

10. The Team That Brought Millersville Back (2002-03 Men's Basketball)

9. A Run of Dominance Reaches Its Pinnacle (2000-01 Women's Tennis)

8. You Had to See It to Believe It (Clara Forney, 2019)

7. Win One for Pro (2013 Men's Golf)

6. What a Finish (Priscilla Jennings, 2009)

5. CHAMPIONSHIP REDEMPTION

Men’s soccer gets its first PSAC title before advancing to the NCAA Semifinals (2011)

Steve Widdowson’s Marauders had been so close. In 2008, the team swept the PSAC East but lost a heartbreaker in the PSAC title game at home. Two weeks later, on the cusp of a trip to the NCAA Semifinals, Northern Kentucky edged the Marauders in an epic shootout. In 2009, Millersville climbed all the way to the nation’s No. 1 ranking and reached the conference title game again. The result was the same, a bitterly close loss.

To be so close to PSAC and NCAA success gnawed at Widdowson and his players. While those championships seemed inevitable, it was rather surprising that everything fell into place in 2011. The 2011 club didn’t feature a dominant goal scorer. Andrew Dukes, a sophomore and former PSAC Freshman of the Year, led the team with seven. The attack wasn’t particularly explosive. Millersville averaged just 1.52 goals per game. The starting goalkeeper, Brad Benzing, was a freshman. It wasn’t really a veteran team. There were only seven upperclassmen on the entire roster. 

But the five seniors—John Claffey, Pat Baffuto, Eric Pepper, Ethan Daubert and Aaron Roland—had seen a lot. They were there for the regular season triumphs and postseason heartbreaks of 2008 and 2009. They finished their careers with a 60-18-5 record—the winningest senior class in program history. And they gave that 2011 team incredible leadership on and off the field. 

Claffey, inducted into the Millersville University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, started every game for four years. He didn't record a single point in his career, but his defense was invaluable to the team’s success. He became an All-American as a senior. 

Baffuto, a team captain, possessed a tremendous feel for the game and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He scored a team-leading three game-winners, including one of the most important goals of the season in the PSAC Championship. Pepper provided the team with a fire and a fight in the midfield. Daubert, also a team captain, was the quiet professional and an outstanding student. You couldn’t miss Roland. A towering 6-5 with a head full of red hair, he led the team with 17 points and gave the Marauders a significant advantage on corner kicks. 

Yet on Oct. 30, the team desperately needed the seniors’ leadership to right a floundering ship. Millersville had gone 5-6 in a stretch from Sept. 25 to Oct. 27, looked nothing like a championship team but somehow still sat in a tie for first place in the PSAC standings. Millersville faced a West Chester team winless in the PSAC in the regular season finale and barely squeezed by 1-0 on a goal in the 71st minute to win a share of the regular season title. 

The win gave Millersville home field for the PSAC Tournament but a game against California, ranked No. 8 in the nation. The Marauders, however, dominated from the start and rolled to a 4-0 win. An upstart Bloomsburg club awaited in the title game, and it was a street fight for 90 minutes. Bloomsburg played a physical brand of soccer, racking up 19 fouls and picking up two yellow cards and a red card for starting a fight. The seniors, having been through the postseason battles before, held the team together, and two of those seniors—Roland and Baffuto—combined for the game’s only goal in the 18th minute. 

The third time proved the charm for Widdowson’s Marauders, capturing the first PSAC Championship in the program’s history. The postseason run, however, was hardly complete. Millersville earned the right to host the NCAA Atlantic Regional at Biemesderfer Stadium. Benzing stoned Mercyhurst with 11 saves in a 1-0 first round win. California returned for revenge in the region championship game, but once again, Millersville’s defense was stout. Benzing and the Marauders posted their fifth consecutive shutout, and with just 6:15 left in regulation, Matt Kadoch scored the winner on assists from Daubert and Ryan Rohrer. 

Biemesderfer Stadium once again played host to the NCAA Quarterfinal with an opportunity for a trip to Florida and the NCAA’s final four on the line. It had to feel like déjà vu for the senior class. As freshmen, they watched their season end in a shootout at home. This time, however, they flipped the script. Rockhurst completely controlled the game's 110 minutes, out-shooting Millersville 15-5 and putting 10 shots on goal to Millersville’s zero. But the Marauders found a way survive, forcing a shootout. Tied 3-3 in the fourth round of penalty kicks, Rockhurst’s shot sailed wide, giving Millersville new life. The five rounds ended tied 4-4, and sudden victory ensued. Kadoch converted, as did Colby Zeger for a 7-6 Millersville advantage. A stop and Millersville would advance, and the freshman came through. Benzing dove to his left and swatted the ball clear of the post. 

The run to the NCAA Semifinals was as exhilarating as it was sweet and just as improbable. In the four matches from the PSAC Championship through the NCA Quarterfinals, Millersville scored a grand total of three goals and somehow still advanced each step. It was hardly a perfect team, but it had leadership where it mattered, and it delivered when it mattered. 

4. A TEAM FOR THE AGES

Millersville baseball wins 53 games and finishes as the NCAA runner-up (2016)

Let’s start with some facts and figures. The 2016 Millersville Marauders won a PSAC record 53 games and posted a best-ever 25-3 record in the PSAC East. They went 44-4 in the regular season with a record 22-game winning streak. They won all 20 home games. Yes, 20-0 at home. The team set 16 school records including highest batting average (.348), most doubles (117), most runs (512) and most pitching strikeouts (357). Players combined to set 15 individual hitting and pitching school records. A record nine players were voted All-PSAC East and seven were named All-Atlantic Region.

Three players hit over .400. They outscored teams by an average of more than five runs per game. During the season, they produced games with run totals that look like a Powerball ticket: 34, 22, 22, 21, 16, 16 (and 21 total games scoring at least 10 runs).  They led the PSAC in hitting, ranked second in ERA (2.98) and third in fielding (.968), just .003 out of first. 

You can make a compelling Millersville hall of fame case for at least seven members of this team. Five players signed pro contracts and two—Chas McCormick and Reid Anderson—are still playing professionally. 

The 2016 Marauders were great at everything. They could hit, pitch, run, and field. The numbers are staggering, and here's just one more number for you: 274. That’s how many teams play Division II baseball, and Millersville ranked in the top three in every national poll from March 21 through the end of the season. It spent five consecutive weeks ranked No. 1. At the end of an entire season, through 60 games, Millersville was one of two of those 274 teams still playing. 

Here’s some perspective on that accomplishment. Only three PSAC teams have ever played for a national championship. The 2016 Millersville baseball team is one of them. And those Marauders came within five runs of a national championship, playing against a Nova Southeastern team that sent six members of its starting lineup in the professional ranks. 

How close was it? Millersville swept through the regional beating perennial powers Seton and Mercyhurst (twice). In game one of the NCAA Championship tournament in Cary, N.C., future MLB draft pick and the PSAC East Pitcher of the Year Brandon Miller threw a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts, beating Angelo State, 1-0. Dan Stoltzfus, the RBI machine of a first baseman, went 3-for-4 with four RBIs in an 11-3 romp over Cal Poly Pomona in game two. Senior righty Jim McDade improved to 12-0 with the win. Against Lander, who boasted the NCAA’s home run leader, Millersville used a clutch McCormick two-run single in the fifth to rally behind freshman Cordell Shannon and a bullpen that went 2 1/3 without allowing a run. 

Those three wins put Millersville in the championship best-of-three against Nova Southeastern. In game one, Millersville led 1-0, and after falling behind 2-1 in the sixth, it had the tying run on base in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings. In game two, Millersville scored three in the first inning and led 4-2 before Nova’s rally in the bottom of the fourth. Still, Millersville had at least one runner on in each of the last three innings. It was that close. 

Still, the 2016 baseball season stands as perhaps the greatest team feat in Millersville history. Yes, other teams have won national championships, but how many bested a field of 274 and faced essentially six elimination rounds just to get there? Sure, we can get wrapped up in the numbers, but then again, numbers don’t lie. 

3. RUHNKE RULES

Shane Ruhnke wins Millersville’s first wrestling national championship in 29 years (2019)

Shane Ruhnke spent the summer before his senior season pouring liquid iron heated to 2,450 degrees into molds in an iron refinery. Wearing a heavy, flame-proof suit for eight straight hours on a hot summer day isn’t for everyone. But Ruhnke was different. 

After his day in the refinery, Ruhnke went straight to the gym for a workout as intense as his work conditions. That training made Ruhnke the strongest wrestler Coach Kerry Regner had ever met, and Regner spent eight years competing at the Olympic Training Center. 

Ruhnke’s strength and physicality became his trademark. He overwhelmed opponents. Of his 97 career wins, 39 came by fall. During his 27-3 senior season, he won his weight class at the ultra-competitive PSAC Championships, becoming Millersville’s first conference champ since 1995-96. He won his three matches with two falls and a 9-0 major decision. At the NCAA Super Region 1 Championships, Ruhnke won his first two bouts by first period falls. Then, on his way to the 2019 NCAA Division II Championship, the 165-pounder did something almost unheard of: a pin in 5:32 for win No. 1, a pin at 1:02 in the quarterfinals, a pin at 2:52 in the semifinals, and in the championship bout, he forced his opponent into a DQ. 

Yes, Ruhnke’s attack was so overwhelmingly that his national championship opponent refused to stay on the mat. Ruhnke led 9-2 (allowing just two escapes) when the referee called the national runner-up for fleeing the mat and stalling five times. 

The tournament’s coaches voted Ruhnke the Most Outstanding Wrestler regardless of weight class, and with the most points earned, he earned the title of the tournament’s most dominant wrestler. 

Ruhnke made Millersville history as its first-ever Division II national champ. He showed in the summertime that he would do what few others could. He did the same on the mat. 

2. SUNFLOWER GOES BACK-TO-BACK

Sunflower Greene wins her second national championship in the shot put

"Sunflower has to be considered one of the greatest athletes in PSAC history and certainly the most dominant field athlete in track and field.” – Andy Young, Millersville women’s track and field coach. 

We won’t argue with Coach Young. Sunflower Greene set PSAC records in four different events, won the PSAC Championships Field Athlete of the Meet five times, won 11 PSAC championship events, qualified for the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships three years in a row and was a six-time All-American. 

The crowning achievement of her career came at the 2019 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas. And it very nearly didn’t happen. One year earlier, Greene became the first Millersville women’s track and field athlete to win a national championship when she won the shot put with a mark of 54-3. The odds for a repeat were not in her favor. Only seven athletes in the indoor championship’s 34-year history had won back-to-back titles in the shot put. Greene entered the meet seeded third and sat in ninth place—one spot below the cut line—after two attempts. On her third and final attempt of the prelims, Greene launched the shot 53-3—an incredible nine inches further than her previous season best. 

That toss was 16 inches better than any other mark in the field entering the finals, and none of the other seven finalists came within 13 inches of Greene on their final three attempts. Greene stood atop the NCAA Championship podium for a second time—something no other female Marauder had ever done. 

What is also stunning about Greene is how she became the nation’s best shot putter through training. She didn’t come to Millersville with a ton of hype. Her freshman season indoor best was 42-5 ¼. In just two years, she improved by nearly 11 feet. The same goes for her weight throw (a jump of 13-8), discus (a jump of 35-6) and hammer (an improvement of 33-9). 

Greene stands alone in Millersville history because when referring to national championships, two is better than one. In the moment, Greene agreed. 

"The second championship is better by far," Greene said. "…This year, as a senior, I can say that I finished on top."

1. A TEAM ON A MISSION

Field hockey wins Millersville a national championship (2014)

They said they were going to win a national championship. Coach Shelly Behrens and the players talked opening about winning it. But it is one thing to say you are going to win a national championship and another thing to actually do it. 

The statement was bold, especially since four years earlier when the 2014 seniors were freshmen, the team went 7-11. Millersville field hockey hadn’t even been to a PSAC Tournament since 1993. But then came 2012 and Millersville finished as the PSAC runner-up. In 2013, the Marauders won the PSAC Championship and advanced to the national semifinals. That was a taste, and naturally, the next step was to win it all.

“We just all want to come out on this field and just kill it,” said senior Champayne Hess before the season. “We are on a mission to go back to NCAAs and win everything." 

The old sports saying is that “defense wins championships.” If that’s the case, then Millersville had the perfect team to do so in 2014. Goalkeeper Lauren Sotzin won the Division II Defensive Player of the Year Award as a junior after allowing just 0.56 goals per game. The best player in the country, Rachel Dickinson, played in front of Sotzin. Dickinson, who ended up winning the national player of the year award in 2014 and earned induction into the Millersville Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020, did it all. She cut off attacks, started Millersville’s and often finished, totaling seven goals and nine assists as a defender. Millersville allowed just 14 goals in its 23 games that season, and only four times did an opponent score to or more goals. 

Senior leadership dotted the entire field. The midfield belonged to Sarah Bomberger, Hannah Whitman and Randi Boyd, the ultimate glue players. There were three proven senior goal scorers on the attack. Katie Zapp led the team with 16 goals, and two of them came in the postseason. Alicia Youtz scored five, including one in the national semifinal against West Chester and the game-winner in the PSAC Semifinals. Hess tallied 11 and lived for the dramatic moment. She scored three overtime winners that season. Two came in back-to-back NCAA playoff games.

The talent and steadiness of the senior class proved crucial time and time again as the team played seven overtime games and went an incredible 6-1. They posted an 8-2 record in one-goal games. They memorably won nail-biting overtime games against rivals Shippensburg and West Chester in the NCAA Tournament, earning them a spot in the NCAA championship game against LIU Post, the nation’s most prolific offense, averaging 3.91 goals per game. 

The Marauders played another one-goal game that required every last bit of their resolve to win. While LIU Post peppered Sotzin with five first-half shots, Millersville made the most of its limited chances, scoring in the 47th minute when freshman Olivia Hershey tipped in Rachel Dickinson’s shot from the top of the circle on a penalty corner. With the lead, Millersville set up a blockade in front of Sotzin as LIU Post went on the attack. 

LIU Post fired off seven shots in the final 12 minutes, and Sotzin turned away three including one that she kicked off her right leg pad after dropping into a full split. For that entire 12 minutes, it seemed as if the LIU Post never lost possession and the ball never left the circle. For Millersville, it felt as if the clock didn’t move. The pressure on the defense was intense, but for those 12 minutes, Millersville truly was a team on a mission. 

When the ball finally cleared out of the circle to the sideline and the clock hit zero, the mission had been accomplished. It was the first NCAA Championship by a Millersville women’s team. 

“We've talked about doing this. We went in one day and said, ‘we think we can do it and this is how we are going to do it,’” said Behrens after the championship. “To have it come to fruition is more than a little overwhelming.”