The Gannon University Golden Knights men’s soccer team came up short Saturday against visiting Millersville University, 5-0, at McConnell Family Stadium.
The Knights will look to rebound when they travel to Shippensburg to take on the Raiders at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Against Millersville, the Marauders netted their first goal in the 22nd minute of play by Jaime Vazquez. Millersville’s Jaxon Burns scored the game’s second goal, putting the Marauders ahead 2-0 going into halftime.
In the second half, Vazquez scored again for a 3-0 lead. Following Vazquez, Marcus Frangakis scored the fourth goal of the night to make it 4-0 in favor of Millersville.
The scoring capped for the night with the final goal by Chase Flickinger as Millersville got the 5-0 victory.
Gannon Coach Dale White said it was a tough loss but he was generally pleased with the performance of the players.
“We statistically outplayed Millersville but they exploited our weaknesses,” White said.
Statistically speaking, the Knights outshot the Marauders 12-8 despite the loss. Gannon also had nine corner kicks while Millersville had none.
The loss gave Gannon a 2-5-0 record overall and a 1-3-0 record in PSAC play.
Trying to looks past this loss, redshirt junior Nick Stephenson said that a few mental lapses cost them goals.
“Once we gain some momentum and are able to focus for a full 90 minutes then we will start winning games,” Stephenson said.
Even though it was a tough defeat, the team is trying to stay positive. Redshirt senior Gavin Linsell said that as a team the Knights are in the process of rebuilding, but have a lot of good things going for them.
“No doubt do I think we will bounce back,” he said. “Every day we keep learning and keep growing.”
As of right now White is focused on the next game. “We will work as a team on the things they need to and reorganize a bit to be ready for Shippensburg,” he said.
Looking ahead, the Golden Knights will be taking on Slippery Rock University at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at McConnell Family Stadium.
BRANDON JACES
