Storms delay game against Marauders

Two years ago, the Slippery Rock men's soccer team entered the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game against Millersville University of Pennsylvania and beat the odds to defeat the No. 1 ranked Marauders, 2-1.

In 2010, the two met in another epic battle, this time during the regular season as the PSAC opener.  The Rock faced the challenge of having a new head Coach, Michael Bonelli. Bonelli and the team quickly found their rhythm, allowing history to repeat itself as the Rock defeated Millersville at Thompson Stadium by the same 2-1 score.

This season Millersville was ranked No. 1 in the PSAC rankings and found the Rock on it's schedule for a Sept. 7 match.

Junior goalkeeper, Clayton Master said that the Rock was ready for the match against Millersville and that the key to the game was executing their game plan successfully.

"We felt very prepared," he said. "Our coaches do a great job getting us information about the teams we play throughout the season. The key is for us to go out and execute the game plan that is put before us."

The Green and White entered Wednesday night's game fresh off a win against Washington Adventist University, 3-2, giving them an overall record of 1-1-0.

With rain in the forecast the start of the game was delayed due to the extra time it took to complete the women's game. As lightning flashed in the distance and heavy rains came down onto the field, the game was postponed in the 23rd minute.  

Millersville was leading 1-0, but because the game didn't pass the 70th minute, NCAA bylaws required the game to be recorded as a no-contest and that all statistics were voided. A makeup date has yet to be scheduled.

Master said that the offense will be prepared for the rematch against Millersville when the game is finally rescheduled.

"We have walk-thrus every day before a game, " Master said. "That has already been a great addition to typical practices. It allows us to focus on restarts and the team's tendencies throughout the game so we will be ready when we take on Millersville again."

Master said that the storm wasn't extremely intense but the rain constantly came down.

"The storm wasn't anything too crazy," Master said. "The rain just kept coming and coming. When it finally settled and the field was playable again, a strike of lightning and more rain is what finally got the game postponed."

Before the rained out game against Millersville, the Rock played against Washington Adventist University at Thompson Stadium.

SRU never trailed in the victory and received solid offensive play from freshman forwards Christopher Davis and Austin Pierce.

Another newcomer to the team, junior transfer Cody Clark also scored for the Rock.

Washington Adventist fought back from an early deficit to tie the game at one before SRU came back to take a 2-1 lead.

Clark's goal in the 76th minute gave SRU a 3-1 lead that they held for the remainder of the match.

Davis, who scored the opening SRU goal, made a quick impact just over two minutes into the game.

After the rain delayed game against Millersville, the Rock will prepare for a game against West Chester University tomorrow at 11:00 a.m at Thompson Stadium.

After the game against West Chester, SRU will go on a three game road trip as it starts conference play against California University of Pennsylvania.