AJ Sports

By Tom Robinson
Go Lackawanna sports correspondent

Abington Heights graduate Anthony Pagnotti is a forward on the Millersville University men's soccer team that is ranked fourth in the nation going into this afternoon's opening round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Tournament.

The Marauders gained the number-one ranking for the first time in school history before having their 12-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 loss to Slippery Rock in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game.

Millersville will be one of four teams playing at Slippery Rock as the NCAA uses the first weekend to trim the field from 32 teams to eight.

Millersville (17-2) plays West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Charleston (17-3) at 2 p.m. at Slippery Rock. Mercyhurst plays Slippery Rock in the next game.

Pagnotti has appeared in 17 games, starting in nine. He is tied for fourth on the team with four goals, one of which was a game-winner. He also has an assist.

The NCAA Tournament appearance is the second straight for Pagnotti and Millersville, which had never been to the tournament before the 2008 season. Millersville reached the national quarterfinals a year ago before falling to Northern Kentucky in a penalty kick shootout.

For more information on Pagnotti and other former local high school athletes competing on the college level, see Bill Arsenault's coverage in Saturday's Scranton Edition of the Times Leader.