MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville field hockey just has a knack for starting its season right--even if the opponent is one of the nation's best. The seventh-ranked Marauders scored its 12th-straight season-opening win Friday at home, topping No. 8 Bentley, 3-2.
Millersville (1-0) has now won game one of each season since 2010--Coach
Shelly Behrens' third year on the job. That streak started with a 4-0 win over Bentley, and Behrens is now 4-0 in openers against the Falcons.
On Friday, Millersville never trailed and statistically dominated the contest, holding a 16-4 edge in shots and a 17-3 edge in penalty corners. Millersville's balanced attack produced three goals and three assists from five different players.
Saige Shine scored her second career goal,
Codi Bollinger scored in her first collegiate game, and
Kate Strickland and
Brynne Ehrlacher connected for the Marauders' final tally.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Millersville's attack put pressure on the Bentley defense from the start, earning 12 corners in the game's first 30 minutes.Millersville opened the scoring off of one of those first quarter corners.
Morgan Lennon received the insert and ripped a shot to the lower left side of the cage. Shine deflected the shot over the goalie, and it slowly trickled through the Bentley back line for a 1-0 Millersville lead. Bentley found the equalizer in a similar fashion with just under three minutes to play the first quarter.
• With 3:45 to play in the first half, Millersville took the lead for good. This time, it was Ehrlacher receiving the insert and taking the initial shot. Bollinger won a battle for the loose ball in front of the cage and out-muscled Bentley defenders for the goal.
• It took Millersville fewer than two minutes of play in the third quarter to stretch its lead to 3-1. Ehrlacher deftly turned defense to offense, poking the ball from a Bentley player, gaining possession and navigating through traffic to the left side of the circle before feeding a pass to Strickland, who had snuck behind the Bentley defense. Strickland made one nifty move to her left before shoving the ball into the cage.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM SHELLY BEHRENS
•
On how the team played against a tough opponent: "Bentley is a great team, and I know they will have a terrific season. For us, we had some great structure and some nice combinations. I was excited for Codi (Bollinger) in her first college game get a goal. Kate (Strickland) gave up her starting spot today, and that shows great senior leadership. She came off the bench and played great. I think we found a way to win against a good team."
•
On balance with the attack: "It's game one and now we are preparing for game two. Having the versatility is great. The kids continue to crush and do what they do well. It was a fun game to coach today."
•
On holding on to the lead: "I think we made some silly errors on occasion, but in game one, that's going to happen. I don't think those will be happening in game 15. But we went really hard and made errors. That, we can coach. There was never hesitation. Credit to Bentley; they were pushing for that extra goal."
UP NEXT
• Millersville's tough early-season schedule continues Sunday at Biemesderfer Stadium as the Marauders host No. 6 Saint Anselm--a team that played in the national championship game at Millersville in 2019.
