MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – It was a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in Division II. It was No. West Chester that prevailed 2-0, handing Millersville its first loss of the season. 

The loss ends Millersville's eight-game winning streak and marks West Chester's fourth-straight win in the series against the Marauders. Millersville is now 8-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC. West Chester improves to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the PSAC.
 
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• West Chester got on the board early, just over two minutes into the game. Dara Spavlik ripped a shot toward Autumn Peters, but Meredith Fagan stepped up blocking the effort. Spavlik collected the rebound and found the back of the cage for the 1-0 lead.
• Two minutes later, Erica Tarsi looked to tie it up as she found herself in a one-on-one with the West Chester goalie Claire Neilsen. Neilsen left the cage and slid into Tarsi's attempted shot for the save.
• Tarsi stepped into the circle a second time in the first quarter and found herself in a one-on-three battle with the Golden Rams' defense. Tarsi ripped a shot toward the cage as she fell to the turf. The ball went just wide and skimmed the left post.
• Kyra Brakfield collected the ball downfield in the second quarter and took off up the right side into West Chester territory. Brakefield fired a shot to Emma Boutcher in the circle. The ball deflected off Boutcher's stick just wide of the cage.
• Peters and the Marauder defense put up a strong front through the second and third quarters. Peters did a split across the cage saving the uninhibited shot from West Chester's Katie Thompson in the second quarter.
• The defense held the Golden Rams' to a single goal until the 46th minute. Peters saved the initial shot from West Chester's Caitlin Kelly, but Kelly managed to scoop the ball back up and find the back of the cage off the rebound. That gave the Golden Rams the 2-0 lead.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Peters totaled 10 saves against 24 shots faced.
• Millersville forced 10 penalty corners to West Chester's nine.
• The Marauders tallied eight shots with three on goal.
• Jordan Goddard and Fagan defended the circle for all 60 minutes of the game.
 
NOTES
• Peters' 10 saves marks a new career-high. She previously had a career-high of nine set last season against Mansfield (Sept. 29).
• Millersville moves to 9-16 in the series against West Chester.
• Their last meeting in Nov. 2018 also resulted in a 2-0 loss.
 
HEAD COACH SHELLY BEHRENS QUOTES
• "It was a great hockey game. Credit to West Chester; they won tonight. There were some things I liked about us and some things I'd like to see us do better. It was a really great first shot by them, technical, clinical, professional shot. The second one was unfortunate to give up. I think it took a bit of the wind out of our sales. Tonight, we just weren't as smart as we needed to be. It certainly wasn't for a lack of effort or heart. Again, tonight goes to West Chester."
• "We had chances. I'd rather learn from that on Oct. 2, how to get better mentally, physically and emotionally so that we can grow. There are some things we can learn from ourselves tonight and learn from our opponent. But, PSAC hockey, it's not like it gets any easier. It's Monday Night Football three nights a week now, and that's okay. I am really proud of our kids. They came. They competed. We can coach them when they compete. All those things are good. But, again, we had our chances and we have to learn how to finish them."
• "On the corners at the end the opportunities were right there. It's a matter of hockey IQ. They are right there in front of us and we have two or three options that we can do. I think the kids tried too hard to get something that wasn't there or create something. Not for a lack of heart or lack of effort, but once they see some things on film we're going to learn from that and let it make us better. We created some chances and we have to learn to finish those chances. That falls on myself and our specialty group to get better."
• "Our defense shined. We managed some overheads. Some great skill by West Chester. I thought one more corner and we would've taken it. That falls on us to learn from it. Personally, with the rankings those things are great and it has been awesome, but I'm more concerned about where we are at the end of the year rather than where we are first week in Oct. The defense did a nice job. I really credit Autumn Peters. She had some point-blank shots that she managed. Jordan Goddard and Meredith Fagan played all four quarters. Credit to them. Sometimes we put them in a bad spot and we need to learn from that."

UP NEXT
• Millersville returns to the field on Saturday, Oct. 5th on the road at Indiana University of Pennsylvania at 10 a.m.