ABOUT THE GAME

• For the seventh time in the first eight games, Millersville is back at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium. Saturday's match-up against Indiana (Pa.) is the PSAC opener. 
• Millersville has started 7-0 for the fifth time since 2013 and the seventh time all-time (1973, 1985, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019). Millersville reached the NCAA Tournament following four of those previous five 7-0 starts. There was no NCAA Tournament for the 10-0-1 Marauders in 1973. 
• Millersville opened the season at No. 6 in the NFHCA Division II poll and has remained in that spot in each of the subsequent rankings. Millersville and No. 1 Shippensburg (4-0) are the only undefeated teams remaining in the top 10. A reason that Millersville has not moved up in the rankings is likely because of strength of schedule (SOS). Based on opponent winning percentage, Millersville's SOS is 0.313 and ranked 34th out of 35 Division II teams. Shippensburg's opponent win percentage of .824 ranks first and West Chester's .786 ranks second. Millersville's schedule is about to become significantly more challenging. Future opponents own a .567 winning percentage, a mark that ranks sixth in Division II. 
• Millersville has lost two of its last three PSAC openers. It beat Mercyhurst 6-0 in 2019 but lost 3-0 to West Chester in 2018 and 1-0 at IUP in 2017. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville leads all of Division II in scoring average (5.571) and goals allowed average (0.57). The Marauders also rank first in margin of victory (5.0), penalty corners per game (15.29) and assists per game (3.14). 
• Bri Harsh has made an immediate impact in her first season as a Marauder. She's recorded at least one point in six of seven games and already has two hat tricks. She ranks third nationally in points per game (3.0) and fourth in goals per game. 
• Kayla Michaels has also cracked the national rankings as she ranks 11th in assists per game. While Michaels has started once in seven games, she's second on the team with 12 points. She's totaled four goals and four assists. 
• Millersville has deployed a balanced attack with 12 different players scoring at least one goal. Six players have scored four or more goals. 
   

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON HAWKS

• A 5-0 start for the Crimson Hawks has come from in rather convincing fashion as they have outscored opponents 18-4. IUP has not allowed more than one goal in any game this season and is coming off a 4-0 shutout of Mercyhurst. They are 2-0 on the road as well. IUP is off to its best start since 2008. 
• Millersville and IUP have just one common opponent: Seton Hill. IUP beat Seton Hill 4-1 on the road. Millersville won 10-0 at home against Seton Hill. 
• Defense is the calling card for IUP early in the season. They've allowed just 8.6 shots per game. Goalkeeper Amanda Zaner is averaging five saves per game with an .862 saves percentage. 
• The bulk of the offense has come from two players: Blaise Cugini and Georgiana Chiavacci. Cugini has seven goals on a team-high 21 shot on goal. Chiavacci has four goals and a team-high four assists. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Millersville 6, Mercy 1 (Sept. 20, 2021) - Different location, same result. After six-straight home games to open the season, Millersville traveled to Mercy Monday, scored the game's first four goals and won 6-1 to improve to 7-0. The Marauders received two goals each from Kate Strickland and Kayla Michaels. Keaghan Keracher and Kristin Strijdom accounted for the other two. 
• IUP: Mercyhurst 4, Mercyhurst 0 (Sept. 22, 2021) - Battling constant rain under the lights, the IUP field hockey team extended its season-opening win streak with a 4-0 victory over visiting Mercyhurst. Blaise Cugini scored a pair of third quarter goals while Georgiana Chiavacci had a goal and two assists to lead the way offensively for the Crimson Hawks, who are now 5-0 to start the season. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Expect a close game Saturday. While Millersville has won seven of the last eight meetings, 13 of the 22 meetings since 2002 have been decided by one goal. Since 2015, the teams have played two double overtime games (2015 and 2018) with Millersville winning both by 2-1 scores. Three of the last six games played at Millersville have gone into overtime. 
• Three of the last four meetings were played at IUP. The last match-up at Millersville came in 2018 and went to double overtime. Millersville has won five in a row at home against IUP, a streak that dates back to IUP's 3-2 overtime win at Millersville in 2010. 
• The Last Meeting - Millersville 1, IUP 0 (Oct. 5, 2019): Millersville topped IUP 1-0 off an early Erica Tarsi goal. Millersville out-shot the Crimson Hawks 12-2. The Marauders placed nine of their 12 shots on the cage.