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NEWARK, Del. - - The offense came to life in the 2022 home opener for the Wilmington University men's soccer team, defeating preseason nationally ranked No. 6 Millersville, 3-1, on Wednesday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The win is the 201st career victory for the program and head coach Nick Papanicolas who has been at the helm of the Wildcats since they moved to the NCAA ranks in 2004. The mark ties the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference coaches record with Nyack College's former coach and current Athletic Director Keith Davie.
The Wildcats (1-1-1) remain undefeated against Millersville at home and have now won four straight games against the Marauders (1-1-1), remaining unbeaten in eight straight.
The scoring started late in the first half as Evan Stevely came off the bench to record his first goal as a Wildcat. Ryuga Uchigashima let Stevely develop his run into the box on the left side before playing a perfect through to him. Stevely went low to make it 1-0 in the 44th minute.
Millersville came out strong to start the second half, but Marcus Hedemann extinguished any comeback with a curving strike in the 52nd minute. Outside the 18-yard box, Hedemann got the ball to his left foot and bent it around the defense and tucked it inside the far post for his first of the year and the 2-0 lead.
Looking to close out the game, Zack Fantine softly chipped a perfect ball behind the back line, allowing Marius Skattum Dahl to chase onto it and make it 3-0 in the 83rd minute.
The Wildcats couldn't finish with the clean sheet however, as the Marauders came away with a free kick outside the box with four seconds left. The ball was headed in the box and then a misclear found the back of the net for an own goal with 0.6 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats outshot the Marauders, 12-8, and earned more corners, 7-5, in the game. Bas Markus earned his first win as a Wildcat, making three saves.
The Wildcats' challenging start to the season continues on Sunday when they travel to Erie, Pennsylvania, to take on preseason nationally ranked No. 18 Gannon. The opening whistle is set for 1:00 p.m.
