MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -Â The Millersville men's soccer team dropped a physical contest to Wilmington, 3-1.
Millersville struggled early in the match to establish a rhythm, with Wilmington applying consistent pressure on the attack. At the nine-minute mark, Roy Parkyn registered the Marauders' first shot on goal, but the attempt was saved by the Wildcats' goalkeeper.
In the 25th minute, Wilmington capitalized on a corner kick that resulted in a bicycle-kick goal, giving them a 1-0 advantage. Millersville had a chance to equalize when Matias Schmidt fired a shot just wide of the net. The first half concluded with the Wildcats holding a 1-0 lead.
Wilmington continued to pressure Millersville at the start of the second half, generating multiple scoring opportunities. Schmidt created another chance for the Marauders, but his shot was again saved by the Wildcats' goalkeeper. In the 60th minute, a defensive miscue allowed Wilmington to extend its lead to 2-0. Just two minutes later, the Wildcats struck again, sending a shot into the lower left corner to make it 3-0.
Millersville responded late in the match as Tylen Thomas connected with Zander Leik, who scored on a diving header to put the Marauders on the board.
Millersville battled until the final whistle, but several late shot attempts came up short. The Marauders return to action Friday with a 3 p.m. road matchup against Holy Family.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Millersville outshot Wilmington 15-14
- Leik scored his second goal of the season
- Finegan recorded three saves
THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH STEVE WIDDOWSON
- With multiple shots just missing the net, what adjustments can be made going into the next match? "The chances were certainly there, especially in the last 20 minutes. It's a simple matter of execution. We don't need to adjust anything, just be a bit more clinical. But I'm not too worried because on a different night we would have scored three or four. I'd be more worried if we weren't creating. I think the boys produced a great response after going down 3-0 and that was pleasing to see. The game was never done and we kept pushing them to the last minute."
- What would you like to see different defensively to limit the number of goals allowed? "The goals allowed are where we lost the game tonight. The first was just a class finish but we have to do better on the second and third. If we had kept it to 1-0 for the last 20 minutes, I think we get a result. We need to learn from these mistakes and tighten back up and get into a regular habit of putting shutouts on the board against us.
