MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - No. 3 East Stroudsburg needed every last second to get by No. 5 Millersville Wednesday at Whitenight Field. Jady van Gils scored the game's only goal, cracking the shot just as the final second ticked off the scoreboard.
East Stroudsburg (10-1, 3-1 PSAC) stayed undefeated at home at 4-0 while Millersville (10-1, 3-1 PSAC) took its first PSAC loss. Both of Millersville's losses have been by one goal and four of the last five meetings between Millersville and East Stroudsburg have been decided by one goal. The last three regular season meetings have been 1-0 final scores.
ESU got the win Wednesday in the most dramatic fashion. With time ticking away, Madison Kline dribble toward the left-side the circle and drew a corner trying to split a pair of Millersville defenders. ESU started the penalty corner with 10 seconds remaining. Olivia Breen received the insert and her try was stuffed by a sprinting Marauder defender. But Breen recovered and pushed a pass to her right to van Gils whose shot found a way to sneak through a well-positioned Millersville defense with no time remaining on the clock.
It was only the second time that ESU had been limited to fewer than two goals while Millersville was shutout for the first time. It was evenly contested for the full 60 minutes as both Millersville's
Kerstin Koons and East Stroudsburg's Amy Supey made five saves. ESU held a slight 9-7 advantage in shots.
"I'm so proud of our players today," said Millersville head coach
Shelly Behrens. It was a great game for us, just not the result we worked for."
Millersville had its best scoring opportunities in a 15-minute stretch from the end of the first quarter into the second. With 4:29 to play in the first,
Bri Harsh's shot beat Supey but was denied by ESU defender Carmen van Kuringe. The Marauders opened the second period with three shots off a penalty corner. George Werkiser and
Codi Bollinger were both stopped by Supey before Werkiser's follow-up went wide. Millersville earned back-to-back penalty corners five minutes later but could not manufacture a shot.
Ashlynn Lennon and
Kristin Strijdom both put shots on goal in the game's final six minutes before ESU's final rush, which included a Lennon defensive save on a Kline shot with 2:19 to play.
UP NEXT
Wednesday marked Millersville's second road game in a stretch of four in five games. The Marauders return home on Friday at 3 p.m. to host Slippery Rock. The team's seniors will be recognized before the game.