ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
• Millersville is making its first appearance in the PSAC Tournament since the 2016 season. The Marauders lost their quarterfinals match at Indiana (Pa.) that season by a score of 14-10.
• This will be the first playoff match up between Millersville and Mercyhurst in program history, and it will also be the Marauders' fifth game this season against a nationally-ranked opponent. They are 1-3 against such opponents this season, but their lone win came on the road in a 9-8 upset over then-No. 25 Bloomsburg on March 23.
• After tying the program record with seven conference wins in the regular season,
Cindy Wilson is the first head coach in program history to lead her team to the postseason in her first season at the helm.
• The Marauders have outscored their opponents 199-182, boast a higher shots on goal percentage than their opponents (76.7-71.4), a higher free-position percentage than their opponents (40.1-25.5) and a higher clear percentage than their opponents (85.4-78.9).
• Millersville is second in the conference in clears (310), third in ground balls (394), ground balls per game (23.2) and have allowed the fifth-fewest goals (182).
•
Genevieve Speights leads the team in points (47), draw controls (57) and ranks second in shots (75) and goals (36).
Gillian Zimmerman leads the team in goals (39), shots (92), is tied for the team lead in free-position goals (11) and is tied for second in points (42).
Sara Burney leads the team in assists (23) and is tied with Zimmerman for second in points.
•
Sarah Leverentz leads the Marauders in caused turnovers (23), is second in draw controls (47), ground balls (44) and has contributed to the offense with 31 points off of 26 goals and five assists.
Jasa Lorah ranks first on the team in ground balls (47) and third in caused turnovers (19), while
Natalie Sukanick is second in caused turnovers (22) and third in ground balls (42).
•
Shannon Davis has started every game in net and ranks sixth in the PSAC in saves per game (9.3) and boasts a 10.94 goals against average (GAA) and .474 save percentage.
LAST TIME IN ACTION: Seton Hill 14, Millersville 13 (April 27, 2019)
• The Griffins goalkeeper stopped a last-second free-position shot to win a very close game for Seton Hill. The Marauders led 8-4 early in the second half, but a six-goal run by the Griffins turned the tables before the score kept changing hands until the very end.
• The Marauders had an advantage in saves (12-8), clears (23-19), ground balls (20-18) and turned the ball over 13 times compared to Seton Hill's 16 turnovers. The Griffins held an edge in shots (40-31), shots on goal (26-21) and draw controls (17-12). Both teams had nine free-position shots.
•
Sara Burney led the attack with six points, including a career-high four goals.
Gillian Zimmerman also scored four goals, while
Grace Cobaugh scored three and, along with
Sarah Leverentz, won a team-high four draw controls.
•
Michella Salvitti and
Nathalie Sell each scooped up a game-high four ground balls, while Cobaugh and Zimmerman each collected three.
•
Shannon Davis made 12 stops in net, the eighth time this season she has recorded double-digit saves.
• The duo of Mackenzie Kilduff and Jaclyn Frank killed Millersville, combining for 13 points and eight of the team's 14 goals. Kilduff scored six goals and Frank scored two to go along with five assists.
SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. Mercyhurst: 1-13
Series Streak: Mercyhurst, 12
First Meeting: 2000 (L, 4-8)
Last Meeting: 2019 (L, 7-10)
• The Lakers have dominated the series, with Millersville's lone win against Mercyhurst being its 8-6 victory in 2001.
• Only two of the last eight meetings were decided by fewer than four goals.
• The Marauders have scored fewer than 10 goals in each of the last two meetings.
THE LAST MEETING: Mercyhurst 10, Millersville 7 (April 13, 2019)
• The Marauders trailed by just one at halftime, but the offense mustered just three goals in the second half and the Lakers went on a four-goal run in the half to run away with the victory.
• Mercyhurst had an advantage in shots (30-26), shots on goal (18-16), saves (9-8), ground balls (25-17) and turned the ball over 13 times compared to Millersville's 14 turnovers. The Marauders held an edge in clears (23-22), draw controls (10-9) and free-position shots (5-3).
•
Genevieve Speights led the attack with three goals and
Grace Cobaugh wasn't far behind with two.
Sara Burney assisted Speights' first two goals, while
MaryCait Dorley scooped up a career-high six ground balls.
Sarah Leverentz tied with
Nathalie Sell for the game lead in caused turnovers (2) and with Speights for the game lead in draw controls (4).
•
Shannon Davis made eight stops in net, including all three of the Lakers' free-position shots.
SCOUTING THE LAKERS
• No. 24 Mercyhurst is making its 11th-straight PSAC Tournament appearance and is riding an eight-game win streak into Tuesday's game. The Lakers have appeared in five-straight conference championship games, losing at West Chester last season, 17-12.
• Mercyhurst is 7-2 at home this season, having only lost to No. 1 Le Moyne on March 13 and Bloomsburg on March 16. During their eight-game win streak, the Lakers have allowed double-digit goals to their opponents only twice and have outscored their opponents, 104-54. The streak includes a 7-6 upset of then-No. 11 East Stroudsburg on April 20, as well as their win over the Marauders earlier this season.
• The Lakers have allowed the third-fewest goals in the PSAC (151), boast the third-best scoring margin (4.1), have the fourth-fewest turnovers (294), are tied for fourth in caused turnovers (168) and are ranked fifth in goals (220), save percentage (.483) and clears (282).
• Mercyhurst has outscored its opponents 220-151 and outshot its opponents 540-400. The Lakers' one Achilles heel has been free-position shots. Mercyhurst is shooting just 34 percent on eight-meter shots, while its opponents are shooting 44.3 percent.
• The Lakers are coming off a dominant 21-10 win over Kutztown on April 27. They outscored the Golden Bears 13-5 in the first half. Lacey Netti led the attack with seven points off of three goals and four assists, while Brenna Fosco had six points off of one goal and five assists. Emma Hubert scored a game-high four goals, while Kira Kolb won a game-high nine draw controls. Kaitlyn Lippert and Raelyn Tiberio split time in net, combining for nine saves.
• Hubert and Netti have been a deadly 1-2 punch on offense for Mercyhurst. Hubert is the PSAC lead in goals (60), goals per game (3.5), shots (136), shots per game (8.0), is fifth in points (69) and sixth in points per game (4.1), while Netti leads the conference in assists (48), assists per game (2.9), points (76) and points per game (4.5). Kira Kolb leads the team in ground balls (70), draw controls (99) and caused turnovers (39).
• Kaitlyn Lippert has been excellent in net for the Lakers, ranking third in the conference in GAA (7.38) and save percentage (.538) to go along with 86 saves. The freshman has started the last nine games in net, during which Mercyhurst has gone 8-1. The Lakers were 4-4 prior to that stretch.
