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GAME OVERVIEW
• It has been feast or famine for the 3-1 Marauders this season. Aside from Millersville's 3-1 victory over Stonehill in the opening game of the year, the Marauders have been a part of lopsided scores. When Millersville most recently defeated Mercyhurst 6-1 and also owns a 6-0 win over Seton Hill. But against Shippensburg, the Marauders lost 6-1 in what was the largest margin of defeat since 2008.Â
• Against Seton Hill on Saturday on the road, the Marauders won convincingly.
Erica Tarsi scored two goals and recorded an assist, giving her three goals in four games. The win was also a landmark victory for head coach
Shelly Behrens, who earned her 200
th career victory. Behrens, who is in her tenth season as the Marauder field hockey coach, enjoyed 123 of those wins with Millersville. She became one of nine coaches to reach the milestone and is ranked fourth among active Division II coaches in total victories.Â
• Several Marauders are off to a great starts in the 2017 season.
Kathleen Bishop has scored four goals in four games and has an assist. Both
Aliza Mizak and Tarsi have three goals and two assists on the year.
Maci Langone has also scored two goals. In four games Millersville has been able to total 16 goals. It is the most goals in the first four games since 2014, when the Marauders started the year with 22 goals in four games. Millersville went on to win the title that year).
ABOUT THE SERIES
• In the 2016 alone, Millersville and East Stroudsburg squared off twice, splitting the season series 1-1. The Marauders got the last laugh, however, defeating the No. 1 ranked Warriors 1-0 in the PSAC Tournament semifinals. In the first matchup of the year, ESU also won by a score of 1-0 on Millersville's home turf. It was one of two losses that Millersville suffered at home.Â
• Millersville and East Stroudsburg have been involved in a number of showdowns in recent years. Since 2011, Millersville holds a one game series lead, winning six of the 11 match-ups. Each team has been a powerhouse as of late with Millersville winning the national championship in 2014 and ESU doing so in 2015. In their five matchups within the last two years, both teams have been ranked in the top 10  in all five games. As of Sept. 18, Millersville and ESU is a No.1 vs. No. 3 match-up, but with new rankings coming out on Sept. 19 this could be shaken up. Regardless, it will be a duel between two of the best programs Division II. Despite many close games recently, ESU still holds a 32-23-1 cumulative series lead over Millersville. The Marauders will look to chip away at that on Wednesday at home in what is the first of two battles between these PSAC rivals this season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• The East Stroudsburg Warriors are again the top-ranked team in the country. The Warriors are coming off a 7-0 win in which they scored five goals in less than five minutes. They played exceptionally well in every aspect of the game, putting up a 44 shots, compared to one shot attempted for their opponent, Molloy. The Warriors also downed Stonehill 8-0 earlier this year in what was a shock for both teams considering that Stonehill was ranked fifth in the country.
• ESU has also taken down Kutztown this year, 3-2. The Warriors have outscored opponents 26-6 so far in 2017. Much of the credit has to go to Sydney McCarthy, who has already scored six goals and recorded seven assists in just seven games. The Warriors' one loss came to No. 8 LIU Post by a 3-1 margin.
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