HAVERFORD, Pa. – Sam Miller has been named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week after posting a shutout against Lebanon Valley on Saturday. Miller was called on to make nine saves in the contest as he recorded his first shutout of the season in his third victory. The weekly honor is the second of Miller's career as he also earned this honor once during his freshman season.
On top of needing to stop every shot that he was faced with, Miller and rest of the men's soccer team were faced with the prospect of playing with 10 players for the final 22-plus minutes of the contest as each team had a player sent off with a red card in the 68th minute. Things got even more dire for the Fords when they had a second player sent off in the 74th minute and played nearly 17 minutes with a man down. However, that did not deter the squad as Tejan Walcott broke through in the 88th minute with the game-winning goal.
Miller was called on to make four saves in the first 21 minutes of the game. However, he would not face another shot on goal until the 65th minute when he would stop five shots in the final 26 minutes of play. His final save of the afternoon quickly transitioned to a goal as just 25 seconds after his ninth and final save the Fords transitioned up the field for the game's lone tally.
The Fords' sophomore has started each of the team's first four games this season. He has played a total of 354:53 in goal and is allowing just 1.27 goals per ninety minutes. Miller has a save percentage of .729 to go along with his 3-1 record. Miller's 19 saves this season rank second among all goalies in the Centennial Conference.
Men's soccer has two matches on the slate this week. Up first is a trip to Kean University on Wednesday. That match will get underway at 7:30 p.m. The Fords will open up the Centennial Conference schedule at home this Saturday against Johns Hopkins. Saturday's home contest will begin at 2 p.m.