MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - In the halftime huddle, Millersville head coach Shelly Behrens asked her team for "just a little more." The Marauders responded with a nearly-perfect final 30 minutes, scoring two unanswered goals, including Kristin Strijdom's penalty stroke with just 1:14 remaining to hand No. 1 West Chester its first loss of the season. 

Millersville's (9-1, 2-0 PSAC) first loss of the season to unranked Frostburg State five days ago is now a distant memory, but according to Behrens, the lessons learned weren't forgotten. The lessons were put into action in the second half of Wednesday's clash of top five teams. The Marauders played with an undeniable urgency, controlling possession for the vast majority of the half. Millersville applied an unrelenting pressure to the West Chester (8-1, 2-1 PSAC) back line, and the line finally broke when Georgia Werkiser found Kate Strickland for the equalizer a minute into the fourth quarter. In the final minutes, the Marauders' second and third efforts drew a penalty stroke that proved the difference. 

"It was a sharpening of our axe," said Behrens. "I must have said it 500 times. 'You are doing this well; let's do it a little better. We are seeing the pass; can you see it sooner? You are attacking the seam; can you attack it earlier?' Our freshmen line came in and gave us a spark of energy. I loved how we responded after the West Chester goal. We stayed with the game plan. They didn't get carried away in the moment. Credit to West Chester. They always bring out the best in us."

After being held without a shot or a penalty corner in the first half, the Marauders responded by drawing six corners in the third quarter and three more in the fourth. Millersville out-shot West Chester 11-5 in the second half. 

West Chester entered the game as the nation's top offensive club, averaging more than five goals per game. But the Marauders' midfield and defense played a controlled, sound game, not allowing the high-scoring Golden Rams second chances or tipped balls off of their long strikes. Millersville became the first team this season to out-shoot West Chester and also the first team to hold West Chester to fewer than 14 shots. West Chester managed just eight total and only four penalty corners against the staunch Marauder defense. 

"Morgan Saunders, Ashlynn Lennon, Caroline Griffin and Taylor Geisel...Taylor was incredible tonight, just flying all over the place. We trusted the game plan and trusted our skill. Not everything went our way but we made it go our way. Our second and third effort really made a difference. The bench was really good. Everyone chipped in, and it was a great team win."

Millersville needed only 30 seconds to draw its first corner of the fourth quarter. Strijdom was denied off the first attempt, and on a second-straight corner, Lennon's smash from the top of the circle dinged the post. But the Marauders maintained possession. Off a restart from the center of the field, Werkiser pushed toward the circle. A step inside, she flipped the ball toward the cage. Strickland placed her stick in front of the West Chester keeper and got enough off the ball to tip it into the cage. It was Strickland's PSAC-leading 12th goal of the season. 

West Chester had its chances in the final minutes as well. With fewer than three minutes to play, the Golden Rams drew two corners. Both resulted in shots. The first, a rocket from Jasmine Miller, was blocked by Kerstin Koons. The second, from Paige Wolf, was stuff by the Marauder defense. 

With 1:30 to play, Griffin played the ball from 30 yards in front of her own keeper to the center of the field where Bri Harsh collected the pass and single-handedly outmaneuvered two defenders in a race toward the circle. Harsh pushed up the right side field and along the baseline before lifting a shot on goal that was deflected by the West Chester keeper. A battle for possession in front of the cage resulted in a foul and a stroke awarded the Marauders. Behrens quickly called Strijdom off the bench. 

Strijdom, already two-for-two on the season, and having converted a stroke on Sunday against Maryville, stepped to the line and went low and right. The ball glanced off the left leg pad of keeper Megan Gula and into the cage for the game-winner. 

"There are several players who can do it, but it was something in Kristin that I saw in practice," said Behrens. "I try to give the strokers a heads up. We knew where we wanted to with it. We told her 'go stick and do your job.' What led to the stroke was the relentlessness in the circle. It was heart and guts and trying to finish. That's a difference-maker for us. That's Millersville field hockey to me."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•  Strickland led Millersville with three shots while Lennon, Codi Bollinger and Strijdom each had two. Koons made three saves, and Gula made four. 
•  The win was Millersville's first over West Chester since 2017--a streak spanning five games. It was also the first time Millersville has scored two goals since 2016--a span of seven games. Millersville is now 10-9 against West Chester since 2013. Twelve of those games have been decided by one goal. 

UP NEXT
Millersville travels to Mercyhurst on Saturday, Oct. 15.