Men's soccer knocked out of PSAC tournament in loss to West Chester

Monday, November 11

Millersville, PA

6:00 PM

Millersville University

9-6-3, 6-3-2

West Chester

8-6-4, 5-4-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
West Chester	1	0	0	0	0	1
Millersville	0	1	0	0	0	1

Men's soccer knocked out of PSAC tournament in loss to West Chester

11/11/2024 10:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Connor Glunt, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — In an instant classic in the rivalry between the Marauders and Golden Rams, Millersville came up just short and was defeated 5–4 in penalty kicks.

The game featured an early goal in each half, as both teams frantically traded chances down the stretch before 110 minutes of soccer was not enough to determine a victor. The Marauders got off to a slow start that the Golden Rams were able to take advantage of right out of the gate. A cross from Devven Frey found the head of Cooper Jackson for the early goal just three minutes into the conference quarterfinal.

West Chester continued to press the Millersville defense, nearly converting on a pair of chances before Millersville finally started to get a collected pushback going the other way. As the game went on, the Marauders settled in more and more, eventually flipping the field and generating some chances of their own to end the half. However, neither team got a grade-A chance in the back half of the first half, as the Golden Rams would take a 1–0 lead into the break.

Kicking off the second half, the Marauders followed up West Chester's strong start to the first half with one of their own coming out of halftime. Braeden Brownholtz started the blitz for Millersville's offense with a good chance that was blocked, but the Marauders attack was unrelenting. 'Ville recovered possession after the block and passed it over to Cody Scully, who dished it off for Teague Ferry. Ferry took a step in at the top right corner of the box and placed the ball in the far-left corner to even the game five minutes into the second half.

The Marauders controlled most of possession in the final 45 minutes of regulation, nearly taking the lead off a volley from Matias Schmidt that was settled by West Chester's Jaden Howard right on the goal line. West Chester had its chances too, none better than a corner kick that found the head of Ian Alicea. The ball sailed over most of the players in the box to Alicea on the back post, but Jake Van Vorhees had great positioning and reflexes to keep the game even. As the second half wound down, the Marauders were in attack mode and had the Golden Rams on their heels. West Chester was only able to momentarily clear each time they got the ball, bending but not breaking. With seconds left on the clock, a Hail Mary shot from just in front of the Marauders bench off the foot of Scully nearly squeaked in just under the crossbar, but the shot hit the woodwork and bounced directly down, not crossing the goal line.

West Chester's offense clicked more when they started play with the kickoff, as was evident in the first halves of regulation and extra time. The Golden Rams flipped the field on the Marauders, forcing them to defend to start extra time. Despite Millersville being backed in its own end off the start, the defense did not allow a shot on frame. The Golden Rams took two shots from the top of the box, but the first was blocked and the follow up went wide. Later on, another attempt was blocked, and Millersville was able to settle down and find its footing. The Marauders had the last six shots of the game after allowing three to start extra time, with the best chance coming from Ferry narrowly missing a second goal, putting it just wide right coming down the right side.

After 110 minutes, the score was tied 1–1. The Golden Rams shot first in penalty kicks, going five-for-five on their attempts. The Marauders first four attempts kept pace, but the fifth attempt was put over the net.

Millersville finishes the season with a 9–6–3 overall record and went 6–2–2 in conference play.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The Golden Rams held a slight edge in shots 18–13, but Millersville edged them in shots on goal 4–3.
West Chester's pressure was more consistently converted into penalty corners than Millersville, with the visitors earning nine to the Marauders three.
Schmidt tied four Golden Rams for the game-lead in shots with three, putting two on net.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH STEVE WIDDOWSON

Overall thoughts on the season: "I've been very proud of the character and resiliency we have shown this year. We have had our challenges and could have taken a very different direction to the one we did take. We kept working and showed development over the course of the season."
Thoughts on the game: "Tonight was a great PSAC playoff game, and we played some great soccer at times, but just couldn't find the second goal we needed. However, the effort was great and I'm proud of what we managed to achieve this year. We are sorry to lose our seniors, they have been great for our program. They have left us in a strong place and now we will look to continue to work on the foundation they have provided."