The Millersville women’s soccer team fell 3-0 to Slippery Rock, marking the fifth time in six games the Marauders have been held without a single goal. The last goal from the team came nearly two weeks ago, when the Marauders defeated Shippensburg at home 1-0 on September 19. The most recent loss to Slippery Rock dropped Millersville’s record to 2-8 at the halfway point of the season.

Millersville hosted Slippery Rock on Saturday, and failed to get a shot on goal in the first half of play. Still, the Marauders were not out of the game. Millersville did not allow a goal in the first half either. However, things did not improve in the second half as the Marauders could only muster one shot on goal following the break, while Slippery Rock netted three in the final 45 minutes.

Millersville has managed just two goals in their last seven games, while opponents have found the back of the net 19 times in that span. For the season, the Marauders have scored a paltry 10 goals through 10 games , which is hardly enough to keep the team in games. Especially when they have yielded 26 goals in that time.

“We have people that can score,” senior Sarah Cameron said. “We’re not even looking to shoot it though. We have to have more of a scoring mentality, it’s always been pass first. We need someone to step up and start taking shots and hopefully the rest of the team will follow in that path.”

The Marauders entered the year looking for their first winning season since 2004 when they went 10-6-1. If things do not turn around soon, it does not seem as though the Marauders will be able to put an end to their sub-.500 streak. However, it is hard to say that any college team with a roster as young as the Marauders would fair any better thus far in the season.

The Millersville roster features 19 players who are in their freshman or sophomore years out of the total 26 members on the roster. Growing pains are to be expected. The underclassmen are getting their fair share of college level experience that will no doubt benefit the team this year. Of the 26 members, 24 will be returning for next season.

However, that still is a year away, and hope is not lost on this year’s squad. The team is halfway through its conference schedule and faces each opponent in the PSAC East a second time. Millersville hopes to fair better against the conference opponents as they went 1-5 against them in the beginning half of the season, with their lone win coming against Shippensburg.

“Our freshmen go to see every team once, so the jitters shouldn’t be there anymore,” Cameron said. “We just have to calm down and play our game. I don’t think these teams are three goals better than us.”

As the season continues to approach the end, the light at the end of the tunnel for the Marauders seems to keep getting dimmer. Still, it is only the halfway point, and the Marauders could really begin to show improvement over the next few weeks.

“We just have to go out and keep playing hard every game no matter what the score was before. It’s time for us to start putting two halves together,” Cameron said.