MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - After a first-round exit in the 2024 PSAC Tournament, Steve Widdowson looks to regroup the Millersville men's soccer program as they head into the 2025 season. The Marauders continue to uphold their core values of PASSION, DISCIPLINE, and AMBITION as they pursue another PSAC Championship.

The Marauders have been on a historic run as of late, winning four of the last six PSAC Championships. Over Widdowson's 19-year tenure, Millersville has compiled 209 total wins, with 127 coming in PSAC play. The program has also secured five PSAC Championships and produced 61 All-PSAC selections. Widdowson's expectations still remain the same like any other year, and with a young core arriving this fall, the Marauders aim to compete once again for the PSAC Championship.

"We have team goals we are looking to achieve, the most important one is competing for a PSAC championship every year," Widdowson said. "We understand we cannot do that every year, but we want to position ourselves where we have that opportunity by making the playoffs and hopefully making that championship game. In order to get there, I think we need to learn from last year, and we must develop this team that is relatively young. It is a young group where I think they are hungry, I think they are motivated, and as long as we keep everyone focused, then I think we will have a chance."

The Marauders lost their leading scorer from the 2024 season, Richy Valverde, but return key contributors offensively in Roy Parkyn, Matias Schmidt, and Teague Ferry. With offensive production distributed among multiple players, Widdowson hopes that balanced approach continues into the fall.

"We always want our goal scoring to be spread," Widdowson said. "We expect a lot of guys to contribute with several goals, and we would much rather have that than one guy scoring all the goals. It should be a case of sharing the wealth, and on any given day anyone can pop up."

Defensively, the Marauders will be without All-PSAC First Team selection Jake Altimore following his graduation. However, they return sophomore Kehmar Green, who logged significant minutes as a freshman, along with senior midfielder Fallou Cissé. With a young group of freshmen requiring development, defensive growth will be a primary focus.

"Kehmar gained a lot of knowledge and is someone we can lean on a little bit more this year," Widdowson said. "We do have Cissé, who is still playing in the back as a senior, and he brings experience as well. It is about developing that group and building the confidence to be leaders back there, especially at center back. It will be a work in progress, and I am sure we will hit some bumps in the road. But it is an area we will focus on. The good thing with having quite a few young guys in those positions is that we should have good stability this year and in the coming years as well."

The goalkeeper position remains highly valued, and the Marauders enter the season with only one returner, redshirt freshman Gavin Massimi. The team added two newcomers in Kieran Finegan and Quinn McCarty to bolster the position. While Massimi will play a vital role in leading the group, Widdowson anticipates strong competition for the starting role.

"Gavin did redshirt in the fall and got some great experience in the spring," Widdowson said. "Gavin and Kieran have both been pretty even through the preseason so far, which has been good. The good thing is to keep them as close as possible. But we want that to be a battle all year, and hopefully like every other position, it is a tough decision for us to make on a game-to-game basis. I think they are both in a great place and bring great qualities to the position."

The 2025 men's soccer season marks the 65th anniversary of the program's history. As Coach Widdowson enters his 19th season at the helm, he hopes to cap it off by securing a sixth PSAC Championship for the program.

"It is a celebration year, and we would love to cap that off with putting another star on our jersey," Widdowson said. "We have deep roots in this program that go all the way back to 1960, when we started. You will see guys from that 1960 team when we celebrate in October. We have our core values of passion, discipline, and ambition that go all the way back to the first team. Again, great roots and great connections. Everyone is very invested in this program, and we want to grow a true legacy of what Millersville men's soccer is about. I think it is really about emphasizing it and growing it. Then putting the program where the success is continued for the next several years but well beyond my tenure. My big goal is to make sure we are protected for the next 65 and beyond."

Millersville opens its 65th season against Salem University at home on Thursday, September 4, at 1 p.m.