SALEM, W.Va. - The 24th-ranked Millersville men's soccer team kicked off the 2024 season with a 4-2 victory over Salem. Four different Marauders contributed a goal.
Roy Parkyn started the game with a penalty kick in the 28th minute of play and from there the Marauder offense broke the game open. Both Matias Schmidt and Mikhil Patil scored their first goals as Marauders. Schmidt's came in the 38th minute after a deflection on a corner kick from Parkyn. Patil followed in the 54th minute with a line-drive shot from just outside the 18-yard box. Senior Richy Valverde tallied his 12th collegiate goal with a tremendous header off a corner from Parkyn, capping Millersville's scoring.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Marauders out-shot the Tigers 16-7 with nine shots on goal.
- Millersville had seven corner kicks on the day, two of which led to goals.
- Goalkeeper Travis Holiday finished the game with two saves.
GAME NOTES
- This victory brings head coach Steve Widdowson to 12-3-2 in season openers.
- This was the first match-up between these two programs.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM STEVE WIDDOWSON
- On the team's season-opening performance: "For our first game it was important to get a result and give us something to build off. We did that, but also saw that we need to be much better in several areas."
- On focuses for Sunday's game against Ashland: "The goals and chances we gave up were far too easy, so we need to tighten things up defensively. We can also be crisper and sharper with our ball movement. However, we faced some adversity and found a way to win when not at our best so those are good signs. Now we need to recover and get more of our injured guys back so we can keep moving forward and get ready for a tough home opener on Sunday."
UP NEXT
- The Marauders return to Pucillo Field for the 2024 home opener against Ashland on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m.
