Mansfield, Pa. – After a scoreless first half, Emma Boutcher scored her second goal of the season to break the tie in the 53rd minute and lead the No. 5 Millersville University field hockey team to a road victory against Mansfield on Saturday night. Erica Tarsi also scored, her third-straight game with a goal.

The Marauders improve to 4-2, while the Mountaineers fall to 4-4. Although both teams compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), tonight's match does not count towards the conference standings. These two teams will meet again for a game that does count towards PSAC play on Nov. 3, Millersville's final home game of the regular season.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• The Marauders finally broke the ice in the 53rd minute off a penalty corner by Sol Ortiz-Kreiner. Alexis Gazzio took the pass and sent it towards Emma Boutcher who managed to beat the goalkeeper on the right side and fire the ball into the cage to give Millersville a 1-0 lead.
• Mansfield was quick to respond after the goal. In a two minute span the Mountaineers earned three penalty corners and sent off five shots, four of which were on goal. Autumn Peters stayed steady in the cage and saved each shot to keep her team in front.
• Erica Tarsi gave her team some insurance in the 63rd minute. Ortiz-Kreiner passed the ball to the middle of the circle and Tarsi took the helper, cut towards the right side and rocketed the ball past the goalkeeper to double the Marauder lead.
• The Marauders fired off 11 shots in the first half and nearly scored before halftime off a penalty corner by Ortiz-Kreiner. The ball was passed to Tarsi who fired a shot that went off the post and then Aliza Mizak took the deflection and smacked the ball just wide of the cage.
• It appeared that Millersville would break the tie early in the second half when Tarsi rocketed two shots that reached the back of the cage, but both times a foul was called just before she made contact.

HEAD COACH SHELLY BEHRENS QUOTES
• "Today was a really great team win. I see us growing more each game. It was tough losing Kyra Brakefield early on, we keep having adversity with injuries. But I see people stepping up each time. I thought Brooke Troutman, Brynne Ehrlacher and Georgia Werkiser contributed well tonight."
• "The first goal by Emma Boutcher was a great one for sure. Erica Tarsi was strong for us again, as were Aliza Mizak and Alexis Gazzio."
• "It was great having Autumn Peters back and she had a solid performance. I'm really proud of how she managed her team and herself tonight. It's always great to have that leadership in the cage. Our defense also had a good performance to build on."
• "The first half was not terrible, but I think some attention to details and execution was the difference for our team in the second half tonight."

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
• Erica Tarsi's 11 shots, eight on goal, were both career highs. Aliza Mizak also recorded a career high in shots with nine, a season-high five were on goal. Alexis Gazzio, Sol Ortiz-Kreiner and Emma Boutcher notched five, four and three shots, respectively.
• Ortiz-Kreiner's two assists are a season high.
• Autumn Peters made nine stops in the cage, setting a new career high.
• The opposing goalkeeper, Brittany Ryan, set a season high with 19 saves.

NOTES
• Erica Tarsi has scored four goals and registered nine points in her last three games. She had never scored in back-to-back games prior to this season.
• Autumn Peters made her season debut and recorded her first collegiate shutout.
• The Marauders improve to 27-14 against Mansfield in program history, including a 12-1 mark in Shelly Behrens' tenure. 
• Millersville out shot the Mountaineers 36-17 and held a 16-11 advantage in penalty corners, setting a season high in the latter. The team's 21 shots on goal also set a season high. 
• This is the most shots on goal the team has recorded since Oct. 9, 2017 against Queens University.

UP NEXT
• The Marauders next travel to No. 3 West Chester on Wednesday, Oct. 3 for a 4 p.m. matchup. This will be both teams' first PSAC match of the season. These two teams met less than two weeks ago on Sept. 19, with the Golden Rams earning a 2-1 road victory.

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