PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Millersville men's soccer team closed out its final non-conference game with a dominant 6–0 victory over Holy Family.
Millersville established an early presence in the match with strong ball management. The offensive pressure forced Holy Family to turn the ball over multiple times, allowing the Marauders to capitalize. Redshirt freshman
Gavin Massimi returned to action and recorded a shutout. The Millersville defense, led by
Fallou Cisse,
Kehmar Green,
Nolan McCarty, and
Zach Richwine, maintained a strong line and limited the Tigers to only a few shot attempts.
In the 12th minute, Alex Delavan's shot deflected off the left post and rebounded to the feet of Roy Parkyn, who finished the play to give the Marauders a 1–0 lead.
Three minutes later, the Marauders capitalized in transition as Brian O'Neill connected with Parkyn on a behind-the-back pass to make it 2–0.
In the 28th minute, Teague Ferry played a pass up front to Matias Schmidt, who knocked in his first goal of the season to make it 3–0.
In the 39th minute, Schmidt scored his second goal of the match off an assist from Juan Ortiz, extending the lead to 4–0.
With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Fallou Cisse sent a cross just outside the box to Kayden Sowell, who headed it in to give the Marauders a 5–0 lead.
The final goal of the match came in the 57th minute, when O'Neill controlled the ball in the box and connected with
Zander Leik, who fired a line drive into the back of the net to extend the lead to 6–0.
Millersville wrapped up the match with a 16–3 advantage in shots over the Tigers. With the victory, the Marauders improved to 3-2-2 on the season. Millersville will return to action next Wednesday, opening PSAC play on the road against rival West Chester at 3:30 p.m.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Massimi records his third shutout
- Schmidt and Parkyn tacked on two goals each
- Millersville out shot Holy Family, 16-3
THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH STEVE WIDDOWSON
- Can you speak on the chemistry between the guys throughout the whole match? "Today was a great performance from the first whistle. I think we immediately stamped our authority on the game and then maintained it throughout. Our passing and movement was really good and we showed a new level of ruthlessness around the box which is something we had discussed before the game. It was a complete team performance and reflected our team chemistry."
- How are you feeling about the team heading into the PSAC season against a top rival opponent such as West Chester? "I think we are in a good place and obviously developed a lot of confidence from today. However, PSAC play is a totally different beast and not one game will be easy. We also start with one of the hardest challenges away at West Chester. We still have work to do but we certainly took some good strides forward today."
