MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Millersville men's soccer team defeated The University of the District of Columbia this Sunday to improve to 2-0 for their first time since the 2016 season.
Sunday's match didn't come with perfect weather like opening night, but that didn't slow the Millersville offense down. The Marauders netted four goals on the day, including back-to-back goals by
Spencer Shortt.
This was the final game in the team's first home stand of the season. They will travel to Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday to take on Goldey-Beacom before heading back to Pucillo Field for three more home matches.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Millersville goalkeeper,
Brady Hochman, allowed only one goal off seven Firebird shots. The senior was terrific down the stretch, making four saves to record his second win of the year.
• Millersville (2-0) saw their first goal of the afternoon come off the right foot of freshman,
Jakob Braman. This was the forward's first goal on the year, and the first by a Marauder freshman.
• The Marauders did the rest of their damage in the second half of play.
Anthony Calamia got them started, working his way past two Firebird defenders in the 62nd minute to put Millersville up 2-0.
• Eight minutes after the Calamia goal, UDC struck back with a goal of their own. Vitor Gomes scored on a breakaway in the 70th minute to bring the Firebirds within one with 20 minutes to play.
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Spencer Shortt took over the match in the final five minutes, scoring two goals that came less than three minutes apart from each other.
• The senior's first goal came off a great play by two underclassmen. Freshman, Braman left the ball for
Matt Lynch on the left side of the box, who then sent a perfect pass to Shortt right in front of a wide-open Firebird net. The senior fired the ball in to give the Marauders a two-goal cushion heading into the final minutes of play.
• For the final goal of the afternoon, Shortt sent a ball over four Firebird defenders into the right side of the net from nearly midfield. This came in the 88th minute and sealed the deal for the Marauders.
POST GAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH STEVE WIDDOWSON
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On tonight's performance and the weather conditions: "Weather was great, perfect playing conditions! I thought we performed much better than on Thursday. Overall it was a really good and fun college soccer game. Both teams battled and played hard, but we were able to take our chances when they came and showed great resiliency to keep plugging away to get the result."
• On Spencer Shortt and Jakob Braman: "Spencer is continuing to lead as a senior player. I thought his decision making could have been better in the first half, but he kept plugging away and got some good reward. Jakob was great today. He has had some difficulties adjusting to the college game, but we have kept working with him and he has been training hard, and today was hopefully a day for him to break through and build his confidence."
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On the match next week against Goldey-Beacom: "Well, we have a day off tomorrow to rest and recovery then we will just plan and prepare as we always do as we seek our first road win."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville out-shot UDC 13-7, including 9-5 edge on frame. The Marauders also held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.
• Shortt recorded two more goals, this brings him to three on the short season.
• Shortt and Braman both recorded three shots on goal. Calamia was just behind them with two.
• The Marauders defense continues to shine, allowing only one goal.
NOTES
• With Sunday's win, the Marauders have taken a 5-1 lead all time against District of Columbia.
• The match only saw one yellow card in the 74th minute. It was given to UDC freshman, Jonathan Vargas.
UP NEXT
• The Marauders head to Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday, Sept. 5 to take on Goldey-Beacom. The match is set to start at 4:15 p.m.
