MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Even after winning four of the last five PSAC Championships, there is no sense of entitlement or complacency in the Millersville men's soccer program. It isn't in Coach Steve Widdowson's nature, nor is it in the players he recruits and trains.
 
Millersville soccer has been on an epic run of consistent success, appearing in six of the last eight PSAC championship matches and winning four of the last five. Since 2015, the Marauders are 101-40-21 (.688). In 16 seasons as Millersville's head coach, Widdowson boasts a .671 winning percentage, fifth-best among all active Division II coaches with at least 100 wins. Millersville's 1-0 win over West Chester in the 2023 PSAC title game was the 200^th of his career. Widdowson knows that every season brings its unique challenges, but complacency will never be one of them.
 
"It's hunger and desire," said Widdowson. "That's what makes the greatest teams and individuals in every sport stand out. How do they keep doing it year after year after year? It's maintaining a forward-looking mentality. The championship is in the past and everything is in front of you. Every journey is a new journey to make memories and have new experiences. It isn't hanging on and referencing the past but going forward and making more history if you can."
 
Millersville opens the season picked to repeat as PSAC East champs and ranked No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, but Widdowson knows that preseason plaudits are built on reputation. Millersville has earned that reputation. But reputation can't win you a championship. 
 
"(We have to) stay humble," said Widdowson. "Understand that nothing is going to be handed to you. This season is going to be much harder because we are back in the position of having the target on our backs and everyone is chasing. When you are close and chasing, you always work hard. When you are in the lead, you want to keep that buffer, and sometimes that's not enough. You get caught at the finish line. So it's about maintaining the hunger, the same kind of mentality. We aren't just here to defend a championship; we want to attack a championship. We want to set the pace. Right now, we are the last team in the conference. We have to take one game at a time and bring our best every day to represent the program, and alumni and give ourselves the best opportunity at success at the end of the year."
 
 
Junior forward and team captain Zander Leik already understands what it's like to be the chased and the chaser. He joined a program that had won three straight conference titles and then missed the postseason despite going 10-3-5. He then played a key role in Millersville's return to glory in 2023. He echoes Widdowson's message to his teammates.
 
"We have a saying, 'You don't want to be the gazelle being chased, you want to be the lion chasing at all times.' That's what we are sticking with this year."

In the landscape of college soccer, Millersville is unique. Widdowson has built a program that rivals any in the country utilizing homegrown and Marauder-developed players. All but five players on the 25-player 2024 roster attended high school within 180 miles of campus. In contrast, Gannon, one of Millersville's stiffest rivals in the PSAC, carries 47 players on its roster, and 62% of those players are international students. Atlantic Region nemesis Charleston has 13 American-born players on its 56-man roster. It's a similar story among the elite programs in the nation. Millersville's players know this. They wear it as a badge of honor. They see it as an advantage.
 
"Our strength is in our family camaraderie," said Leik. "We have a smaller group, and we are tight. We aren't the most skilled in the PSAC by any means. But the guys we bring in have the will to work and the will to win. They are bought into the program."
 
Widdowson has stayed true to his program's identity. That slogan reads: "We are a blue-collared, committed brotherhood, possessing a ruthless, winning mentality. A Millersville men's soccer player is a different kind of player: hungrier, grittier, tougher, a harder worker. It makes no difference that Millersville has been in the NCAA playoffs nine times under Widdowson. They always play with a chip on their collective shoulder and a singular focus.
 
"We take pride in it," said senior captain Cody Scully. We are a tight-knit group. We are a group that works extremely hard. Keeping that identity is a key to our success. You can see that we are super close. We care for and play for each other. No one is above the team. No one cares about individual stats, just winning."
 
A glance at the roster shows that Millersville lost PSAC East Athlete of the Year and leading goal scorer Bob Hennessey and All-America back Aaron Maynard, and those are certainly big shoes to fill. But the roster is in excellent shape returning 10 players who started six or more games for last season's 14-3-3 club.
 
Widdowson doesn't believe in rebuilding seasons, and he's done a remarkable job balancing recruiting classes and preparing players for their opportunities.
 
"If you are having a rebuilding year that means you haven't done the work correctly leading up to it," said Widdowson. "You've been short-sighted with things. Obviously, things happen with players leaving, injuries, and players not working out how you thought they would, but we've done a really good job of making we have experience and growth. If players stick around for four years, they'll be in a position to step up that senior year. That's what college athletics is about. Unfortunately, that's changing, but we still try to do it at Millersville. We get players here who want to be here for four years, who we want to work with, who want to stick it out and get a four-year experience understanding that there will be ups and downs."
 
Hennessey is a perfect example of that career arc. He scored 12 total goals in his first three seasons before erupting for 11 as a senior. That's nothing new in Widdowson's program. His best teams have never been reliant on singular offensive performers. Turning over goal production has been seamless through the years, from one player of the year and all-region performer to the next—Sean McLaughlin to Kyle Loughlin to Andrew Dukes to Jaime Vazquez to Jacob Gosselin to Hennessey. On the eve of the 2024 season, it's someone else's turn to step into that role. And most assuredly, someone will.
 
"We understand that it's time for the older guys to step up," said Leik. "The younger guys see that, and then they want to do it when they are older. You just have to step into those shoes and make stuff happen."
 
"We talk about the Millersville goals—goals that everyone is contributing to, not just one guy taking on five players," said Scully. "Passing and sharing the ball. That's what we look for."
 
Millersville's 2024 club can attack teams in a variety of ways, and balance is what could make the team dangerous. Millersville returns four players who tallied at least 11 points in 2023. Richy Valverde and Roy Parkyn are both back after sharing the team lead in assists with five apiece. Michael Dempsey ranked second on the team with five goals, and Leik contributed four goals and four assists. There are also young players like sophomore Luis Wright, redshirt sophomore Connor Fiadino, sophomore Brendan Miller and Fallou Cisse who contributed to scoring in 2023.
 
"There are plenty of pieces there," said Widdowson. "It is about who steps up on a given day. We aren't looking for one or two guys. We never have. I'd rather have four or five guys scoring five goals than one guy scoring 19. It's about that mentality—setting up a guy and being as happy with that as scoring yourself."
 
 
Preventing goals has always been a hallmark of Widdowson's teams. Over the final 10 matches of the 2023 season, Millersville surrendered just four goals—two of which came in the NCAA playoffs against Gannon. The graduated Aaron Maynard was the PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year and a multi-time All-America honoree, and midfielder Mike Kreider, renowned for his leadership and play, is now on the coaching staff, but Widdowson is comfortable with where the team is defensively.
 
"We had so many questions coming into the preseason that I had no idea about where we were going to be, but I feel much more comfortable now, knowing the new players more and trying players in new positions," said Widdowson. "I've got a good handle on what players can do, where they can play, and what options we have, which is fantastic."
 
Scully has 42 career starts already under his belt and brings valuable experience to what will likely be a youthful backline. The same is true for fellow captain Jake Altimore, a former All-PSAC East Second Team honoree with 41 career starts. Haven Thomas was a 17-game starter in the midfield as a freshman. Zach Richwine also made six starts last year.
 
Widdowson said he is excited to see what Cooper Davis can do coming off a redshirt season. Newcomer Kehmar Green is also a player to watch.
 
"We have some new players coming in that can help," said Widdowson. "We have three options for every position right now. It's about sorting through who the best options are on that day."
 
Goalkeeper Travis Holiday returns after starting 17 games and finishing the 2023 season as one of the best statistical keepers in the region. He led the PSAC in goals against average (.539) and saves percentage (.824), and more than half of his starts concluded with a clean sheet. Widdowson, however, is ready to settle on a starter just yet. Junior Jack Gabler, redshirt sophomore Jake Van Vorhees and freshman Gavin Massimi are providing Holiday plenty of competition in camp.
 
"Our goalkeeping department is as strong as it's been in a number of years," said Widdowson. "We've got four guys, and we are comfortable with all four of them. Travis has more experience. He's commanding with services, so he does well with some of the more direct teams that we play. The other three goalkeepers are all competent and have their strengths. We aren't sure what direction we are taking with our goalkeeping right now. Like last year, it might take us a month before we settle into, 'This is our guy,' and who knows? It could be two, depending on the nature of the team we are playing. It could be one goalkeeper for one style of team and one for another style. We are in a good position because we have options."
 
Millersville has three non-conference matches to figure out any remaining questions before PSAC East play begins on Sept. 18 against Shippensburg. Widdowson is never apprehensive about testing his team with a challenging non-conference slate. Game two opponent, Ashland, is always competitive and handed Millersville a 3-2 loss in 2023. Millersville owes Mercy for a 4-0 loss last season, and Wilmington and Jefferson are routinely playoff teams. Millersville had an abbreviated camp with just a week of practice before their first scrimmage and it's been fewer than three weeks from the time they reported until they hit the pitch at Salem.
 
Still, Widdowson's Marauders appear ready for the journey ahead.
 
"Everybody has attacked the preseason, the workloads and the philosophies well," said Widdowson. "They've worked very hard. There has been a collective spirit in doing what we've asked of them."