Louisville, Ky. - The first half was playing out just as Millersville had planned until LIU Post's Emily Miller slipped behind the defense on a breakaway opportunity and put the Pioneers on the board. That goal was the first of three for the nation's leading scorer and Division II's single-season record holder, and LIU Post advanced to the NCAA Championship for the fourth time in five years with a 3-0 win over the Marauders.

The NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed, LIU Post (19-3), entered the game as the No. 2 scoring offense in the country, but Millersville (15-6) was no stranger to high-powered attacks having blanked the nation's No. 1 offense, St. Anselm a week earlier to reach the NCAA Semifinal. Yet Miller, who has scored 40 times in 2017, found ways to beat a stingy Millersville defense that led the nation in shutouts.

Before Miller's first goal, the Marauders had picked up two penalty corners and had limited the Pioneers to just two shots. It was the game the Marauders wanted as they were 15-1 when limiting opponents to no more than one goal.

"They are a very talented team, a fun team to play against," said Millersville head coach Shelly Behrens. "I thought we played very well in the first half, especially defensively. We just had one or two let downs. We separated at bits at times."

That one defensive hiccup allowed LIU Post to score first. Behrens stated the defenders--a line that features two sophomores and a freshman--might have thought a ball down the left sideline rolled out of bounds and momentarily let up in their retreat to defend the goal. LIU Post's Sammy Bell dribbled the ball to the left post and squeezed a pass through Marauder defenders to a sprinting Miller, who was all alone on the back side.

"I think for us, it was atypical for us to stop," said Behrens. "It's a lesson for our young defenders to learn. It probably took some of our puff out and made us question ourselves a bit."

The Marauders rallied early in the second half, however. Millersville drew a penalty corner three minutes in, and Kyra Brakefield put two shots on goal in the first five minutes. Rachel Vellis, who registered her seventh shutout of the season, made stops on both.

Aliza Mizak also followed a penalty corner with a shot in the 49th minute, but it was blocked by a defender. Of Millersville's five second-half shots, three came before then 49th minute and the other two did not come until the 69th.

"In the second half, we looked for quicker restarts, quicker pace of play," said Behrens. "We could have swung the ball a little more. There was a lot of space on the other side but we stayed in overloads and that didn't help us."

We were getting chances, we just couldn't get finishes," said Mizak.

LIU Post extended the lead from one to three in just two-and-a-half minutes. Following a corner, Miller redirected a teammate's shot past goalkeeper Kylee Bair's right arm. Miller made the same play at the 53:33 mark, tipping in a Kaycee Zelkovsky shot.

"I thought we were defending them well," said Behrens. "We were our own culprit. They took advantage of opportunities, and they took advantage of some of our mistakes. For a younger team, that's something we need to look at and get better."

Miller took nine of LIU Post's 14 shots. Bair made seven saves for the Marauders.

After falling behind, Millersville's attack was also hampered by the absence of senior and nine-goal scorer Kathleen Bishop, who exited in the 14th minute and never returned after being struck with a LIU Post pass.

Bishop was one of five seniors playing their final games as a Marauder. The group played in four NCAA Tournaments, reaching the semifinals twice and winning the national championship as freshmen in 2014.

Of the 18 players who saw action Friday, 13 were freshmen and sophomores--seven of them were in the starting lineup.

"Reflecting back, it's not easy to get to this point," said senior Courtney Weaver. "It takes a lot of hard work and working together. Last year we got to this same game, and moving forward, with this young team, I feel like (the seniors) have shown them the way. So they will have a good chance to get back here and get even one game further."

For Millersville, it was its unprecedented fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and fourth trip to the final four in five years. Millersville totaled a 15-6 record and received the No. 5 seed in the tournament.

"For us, it's been a tremendous season, tremendous journey," said Behrens. "We will take time to reflect and enjoy what we've been able to do and build on it. It's such an honor and a privilege to be at a NCAA Championship. For us, I hope we can take a step back, reflect and enjoy what we've accomplished together."