10/23/26

SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's soccer hits the road this weekend for its final PSAC contest, as the Falcons head to Millersville to take on the Marauders on Saturday, October 24^th. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm ET at Millersville's Pucillo Field.
 
Game Details
Who: Lackawanna College Falcons (1-8-6) at Millersville University Marauders (10-4-2)
When: Saturday, October 24^th, 1:00pm ET
Where: Pucillo Field, Millersville University; Millersville, PA
 
Video | Live Stats
 
Video Coverage: PSAC Sports Digital Network 
Fans who cannot attend in-person can watch live via the Millersville University channel on the PSAC Sports Digital Network. 
 
Live stats: http://sidearmstats.com/millersville/msoc 
Live stats coverage is available and will be updated as the game goes on. 
 
This is the second match-up of the season between Lackawanna and Millersville, who met back on September 12^th in Scranton and finished in a scoreless draw. The Falcons were out-shot by the visiting Marauders, 16-to-7, and the visitors had a 9-to-1 advantage in corners, but the Falcons held for their first-ever point against a PSAC opponent. Read the full recap HERE.
 
The Falcons 
Lackawanna (1-8-6) comes into the weekend after one of its most impressive results to date, grabbing a 1-1 draw on the road at West Chester the past Wednesday. Trailing late in the second half, the Falcons found an unlikely equalizer in the 90^th minute with five seconds remaining to stun the hosts and earn a huge draw. Lackawanna was out-shot, 17-10, and the Golden Rams held a 9-3 advantage in corners. You can read the full recap HERE.
   
On the season, the Falcons have given up 28 goals, a 1.87 goals per game average, while scoring six goals this season. Lackawanna has 134 shots, 62 on target (.463 SOG), while the opponents have posted 204 shots, 73 on target (.358 SOG). The Falcons have 41 corner kicks, while their opponents have 85 corners this year. Lackawanna has had to make 45 saves this season, while forcing 56 stops from the opposition. 
 
First-year forward Miguel Pereira (Revere, MA) has a pair of goals this season for the Falcons, first on the team, along with an assist and 13 shots, four on target. Pereira scored a goal in the draw with King's College on September 2^nd, and he scored the game-winner against Pitt-Johnstown on October 3^rd. Pereira earned an assist in the draw with West Chester on Wednesday, playing 48 minutes for the Falcons. Miguel did not play against Millersville earlier this season.
 
Third-year midfielder Cristian Lopez-Contreras (Chambersburg, PA) has a goal and two assists for the Falcons in his six games this year. He has ten shots, six on target, but hadn't played in a game for the Falcons since leaving the Millersville match with an injury just two minutes in on September 12^th. Lopez-Contreras played an impactful 21 minutes against West Chester, scoring the game-winner against the Golden Rams. He assisted Pereira's goal against King's College on September 2^nd, and he also posted an assist against Berkeley (NJ) on September 5^th. Lopez-Contreras transferred to Lackawanna from Harford CC, where he was an NJCAA Division I All-American.
 
Midfielder Wisdom Afrani (Accra, Ghana) has one goal on 16 shots this season, second on the team, while putting five shots on target for the year. Afrani scored his first goal of the season against East Stroudsburg on October 7^th, tying the game against the Warriors in the 82^nd minute and helping the Falcons get the draw. He tied his season-high with three shots, one on target, against Shippensburg on October 10^th, with one on target. Afrani posted one shot in 61 minutes against West Chester on Wednesday. He played 61 minutes and had a season-high three shots, two on target, against Millersville on September 12^th.
 
Midfielder/Defender Malik Salau (Lagos, Nigeria) has a goal and an assist this season for three points, playing in 13 games this year. Salau has seven shots, four on target, and earned his assist in the win against Pitt-Johnstown, serving up a perfect long ball for Pereira in the win for the Falcons. Salau scored his goal in the draw with Shippensburg on October 10^th, heading home a set piece in the 42^nd minute to bring the Falcons level. Salau recorded one shot in 71 minutes against West Chester on Wednesday afternoon. Against Millersville, he played in 68 minutes of action.
 
Forward Tito Tokunboh-Salako (Columbia, MD) leads the Falcons with 21 shots, putting 12 on target this season. The first-year forward picked up the assist on Afrani's goal against East Stroudsburg (10/7). Tito has recorded at least a shot in his last six games, posting a season-high five shots, four on target, in the draw with Bloom (10/14). Tito played 27 minutes on Wednesday against West Chester, posting a shot. Tito did not play against Millersville on September 12^th.
 
Two goalkeepers have seen action for the Falcons this season, with second-year man Kevin Nievas (West Palm Beach, FL) as the main keeper, starting nine games. Nievas has allowed ten goals in his nine games, a 1.39 goals against average, and has made 15 saves this season, with two clean sheets, which includes the scoreless draw with Bloomsburg (10/14) and the win at Pitt-Johnstown on October 3^rd. That was Nievas's first game back after missing three weeks with an ankle injury. He set a season-best with four saves against East Stroudsburg on October 7^th. He did not appear against West Chester in the first match-up. He went the first 45 minutes against Shepherd, making one save.
 
The other keeper is Rowin Thomas (Abilene, TX), a first-year student-athlete who was thrown into action when Nievas went down with injury. Thomas has given up 18 goals in nine appearances, six starts, a 2.30 goals against average. He has made 32 saves, twice posting a season-high six saves. He had six stops in a 1-0 loss to Shepherd on September 19^th, then had six more saves in the 1-1 draw on Wednesday with West Chester. Thomas had his best game against Millersville, keeping a clean sheet in a scoreless draw for the Falcons. Thomas had four saves in that scoreless draw against Millersville. He had six saves and gave up the lone goal in the draw with West Chester.
 
Lackawanna College is coached by Will Flannery, in his first season at the helm and who took over the program in February earlier this calendar year. Flannery has coached and played collegiate soccer for the last ten years, previously serving as assistant coach at Lehigh University before coming to Lackawanna. In his one season with the Mountain Hawks, Lehigh made the Patriot League championship game and had six all-conference selections. Before his time in Bethlehem, Flannery spent seven years at Dickinson College in NCAA Division III. While there, he spent five seasons playing with the Devils, then transitioned into coaching immediately after his senior season concluded. Flannery became the first full-time assistant in program history and helped Dickinson achieve never-before-seen heights, including an NCAA Elite 8 appearance and finishing #6 in the national polls in 2024. He was a captain for three years while playing Dickinson. Flannery also has experience coaching at the youth level, working with the Lehigh Soccer Academy and Lehigh Valley United Rush. 
   
The Marauders
Millersville (10-4-2) enters the weekend winless in its last three matches. The Marauders fell at home vs. Shepherd (3-1) on October 14^th, then 2-1 on the road at Bloomsburg on October 17^th, and then drew at East Stroudsburg on Wednesday.
 
The Marauders (5-3-1) currently sit atop the PSAC East Standings, ahead of West Chester (5-3-1), with both teams on 16 points. East Stroudsburg (4-1-3) is hot on their heels, sitting at 15 points.
   
Millersville has scored 32 goals this season, averaging about two goals per game, and they are allowing just 14 in response, a 0.88 goals against average. The Marauders have out-shot their opponents, 217-to-119, with 99 shots on target (.456). Millersville also has 87 corners this season, as compared to 48 from their opponents. The Marauders have forced 67 saves from the opposition this season, while making 40 stops.
   
Senior Roy Parkyn leads the team with seven goals, two assists, and 16 points in his 15 games this season. Parkyn has 20 shots, 13 on target, for the year. Parkyn posted two goals and four shots against Salem on September 5^th. He had back-to-back games with a goal against Georgian Court (9/23) and Bloomsburg (9/26). He had a goal and an assist against St. Thomas Aquinas College. He did not play against Lackawanna College on September 12^th. He had two shots in the draw with East Stroudsburg.
 
Fifth-year Zander Leik is second on the team with five goals and two assists for the season, posting 12 points. He also has 20 shots this season, eight on frame. Leik had two goals and an assist in the 7-1 win at Cal (PA) on September 2^nd. He had three-straight games where he had either a goal or an assist against Bloomsburg, Shippensburg, and West Chester from 9/26 to 10/7. He did not play against Lackawanna College on September 12^th. He had one shot in 27 minutes of the draw with East Stroudsburg. He is a fifth-year player who was a first-team All-American and All-PSAC East First-Team last year. 
 
Sophomore forward Juan Ortiz Escobar is third on the team with three goals and three assists for the season, while he leads the team with 27 shots, eleven shots on frame. Escobar had one goal and a pair of assists against Georgian Court on September 23^rd. He played 63 minutes against the Falcons on September 12^th, taking a pair of shots. He had one shot, one on target, in 57 minutes at East Stroudsburg earlier this week.
Sophomore midfielder Brian O'Neill is second on the team with 26 shots and ten shots on frame this season. He has three goals, and two assists. O'Neill played 60 minutes and took five shots, two on target, against the Falcons in their first match-up. He had one shot in 75 minutes against ESU.
 
Junior keeper Gavin Masssimi has started and appeared in 14 games this season, allowing 14 goals while saving 32 goals for the Marauders this year. Massimi has three clean sheets on the year, with his latest the scoreless draw against East Stroudsburg on October 21^st. He was not the keeper against Lackawanna College in September.
 
Longtime coach Steve Widdowson is head coach for the Marauders, now his 20^th season in charge at Millersville. Widdowson has a decorated resume in his time at Millersville, winning 230 matches in his career. He has five PSAC championships and eight NCAA tournament appearances. The best finish for Millersville under Widdowson came in 2011, when the Marauders won the PSAC, made the NCAA tournament, and went to the NCAA semi-finals. His 2008 squad had the most wins, finishing with 18 victories and making the NCAA quarterfinals. He's a three-time Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, and a six-time PSAC COTY. He has developed eleven All-Americans, 73 All-PSAC selections, and five PSAC Players of the Year. Widdowson is a decorated professional, getting his start as a 15-year-old playing at Barnsley PFC as a member of the U-19 Northern Intermediate League squad and, eventually, joining the senior team as the back-up keeper in the English Championship division. He moved to the USA to pursue an education and went to Rutgers, where he helped the Scarlet Knights win Atlantic 10 and Big East titles, while also making the NCAA tournament and advancing to the Final Four in his first year. 
 
Next: 
Lackawanna College returns home for an important contest on Wednesday, October 28^th, as the Falcons playing host to Central Penn College. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm ET at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, and it will be senior day for the Falcons.