ABOUT THE GAME

• On Saturday at Biemesderfer Stadium, Millersville field hockey returns to competition for the first time since Nov. 8, 2019. The Marauders open the 2021 season against St. Thomas Aquinas. The game starts a stretch of six consecutive home games. Seven of Millersville's first eight games are at home. 
• Millersville has been outstanding at home in recent history, posting a 72-15 (.828) record since 2012. Millersville has been above .500 at home for eight consecutive seasons, most recently going 8-3 in 2019. Two of those losses came in overtime. 
• Millersville has reached the postseason in eight consecutive seasons. The PSAC preseason poll, voted on by the league's coaches, placed Millersville at No. 5 in the 11-team league. St. Thomas Aquinas is a member of the Northeast-10. The Spartans were projected No. 10 in the 15-team conference. 
• While this is the season opener for Millersville, St. Thomas Aquinas opened its season Thursday against Pace. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• After an 8-0 start in 2019, Millersville finished 13-7 and reached the PSAC Semifinals. The team has a much different look, however, as only eight of the 19 players who scored a goal that season return, and only Hannah Brown scored more than two. he 13 sophomores and freshmen have yet to play a game at the Division II level, and the six third-year players have just one year of game experience.  
• Brown is among three players on the roster who are former All-Americans. Sol Ortiz-Kreiner and Meredith Fagan return as graduate students. Ortiz-Kreiner totaled 23 points in 2018. Fagan is a three-time All-PSAC selection on defense. 
• Millersville has a trio of transfers who have had success at the collegiate level. Farai Kawonde is a graduate transfer from Newberry. There, she was a two-time All-SAC First Team selection, and she led the conference in assists in a shortened 2020-21 spring season. Keaghan Keracher has been with the Marauders since the summer of 2020, but before that, she scored 12 goals in helping Limestone to two SAC titles. Bri Harsh started three games as a true freshman at Division I Lock Haven before coming to Millersville. 
   

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

• The Spartans have been a program only since 2015, and its first season the NE10 (2019), was a success. They went 10-10 overall and 7-7 in league play and then upset No. 2 Adelphi in the conference tournament quarterfinals. Lauren Cooper is the team's top returning offensive player. She scored four goals in 2019. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: ESU 3, Millersville 0 (Nov. 8, 2019) - A goal late in the first quarter gave East Stroudsburg the early advantage and momentum to defeat Millersville 3-0 in the PSAC Semifinals. The Warriors scored two goals in the second quarter. Millersville attempted one shot but none were put on goal.

SERIES HISTORY

• Thursday marks the first-ever meeting between Millersville and St. Thomas Aquinas. Millersville is 12-5 all-time against current members of the NE10.
• Millersville has won 16 consecutive regular season games against non-PSAC teams. The last regular season loss to a team outside the PSAC was on Sept. 5, 2016 against Stonehill. Millersville has won 14 of its last 15 games overall against non-PSAC teams. The lone loss came in the 2017 NCAA Semifinals against LIU Post.