MILLERSVILLE, Pa. --- Tusculum College opened its 2011 men's soccer season with a 2-0 loss at Millersville on Friday afternoon, spoiling the Pioneer head-coaching debut of Allen Vital.

Goals by Andrew Dukes in the ninth minute and Pat Baffuto in the 86th minute gave the Marauders the victory, a match in which they outshot the Pioneers by a margin of 11-6, including 5-1 in the first half. Tusculum started nine freshmen in the match, and used just 12 players.

"I was disappointed with the result, but I thought in the second half we showed a lot of improvement," said Vital, a 1992 Tusculum graduate who returned to his alma mater in December after 14 seasons at South Atlantic Conference rival Carson-Newman. "We kept the ball and created a few chances, but we need to play without making defensive errors."

The goal by Dukes came at 8:13 on a penalty kick, and gave Millersville a 1-0 lead that it carried through the first half. Tusculum's only shot came in the final minute of the half, by Javier Portillo.

The Pioneers found some offensive equilibrium in the second half, but were unable to come up with the equalizer. Baffuto put the game out of reach with 4:14 left off an assist by Eric Pepper.

Tusculum did hold a 5-1 edge in corner kicks, while Millersville was whistled for 19 fouls compared to 13 by the Pioneers. The Marauders were booked for three yellow cards in the match.

Andy Goellner finished with five saves in goal for the Pioneers, while Brad Bensing posted the clean sheet for the Marauders by making one stop.

On Sunday, the Pioneers will begin the trip back to Tennessee with a stop in Shepherdstown, W.V. to face Shepherd at 2 p.m. The teams met last season in Greeneville, with the Rams taking a 1-0 victory.

- TC -