MANCHESTER, N.H. – Millersville head coach Shelly Behrens told her team that it was time for people to step up and into bigger roles heading into the 2023 season. In the Marauders opening game against Saint Anselm College, her players responded with a 3–1 victory. 

One of the players that stepped up for the Marauders was Qhayiya Nogoduka, who scored her second career hat trick. Nogoduka led the team in every offensive category, shooting four times and putting each one on net, and was seemingly in the right place at the right time the whole game. While Nogoduka had a dominant start to the season, Behrens said the team performance was what she wanted to see in game one of the season.

"Just some great performances by many people, especially Q, natural hat trick with three goal," Behrens said. "So first impression, I'm good with where we are, but I know we can be better."
 
The game started slow, as both teams traded possession without too many chances for scoring. The first chance of the game came a couple of minutes in as the ball trickled through the Hawks defense and found Bri Harsh left of the net, but a tough angle led to the shot going wide. Saint Anselm's best chance of the opening frame came at the end of the first quarter by way of a corner but could not generate a shot attempt. 
 
The game opened up for both teams once the second quarter began, as Nogoduka scored just under four minutes in off an assist from Gianna Cugino, and the Hawks responded with a goal from Abbey Stevens less than two minutes later. Past the halfway mark of the quarter, the Marauders had a flurry of corner opportunities to retake the lead, but shots from Kristin Strijdom and Nogoduka were stopped by Mackenzie McConnell to keep the game tied. With less than one minute remaining in the half, Emma Ruley made a spinning pass at the goal line to find a diving Nogoduka on the right post to put the Marauders back in the lead, 2–1. 
 
Millersville came out of the break with its foot on the gas, immediately getting back in the offensive zone and generating corners, as Strijdom had a shot saved on the first chance, but Nogoduka completed the hat trick on a second corner five minutes into the frame. The Marauders dominated the rest of the game, as Saint Anselm could not generate any offense to cut into the lead until a couple of corners late in the fourth quarter. 

The Marauders start the season 1–0 and travel within New England for a game against Bentley University at noon on Sunday, Sept. 3 in Waltham, Mass..
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Marauders outshot the Hawks 12–2, and shots on goal was 11–1. The Marauders did not surrender a shot attempt after the Hawks goal scored at 20:17.
• Nogoduka, Strijdom, and Emily Buss (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) each had multi-shot games with every attempt registering as a shot on goal.

 
GAME NOTES

• Millersville improved to 3–0 in the all-time series with Saint Anselm, including two wins on the road, and has outscored the Hawks 6–2.
• The Marauders have won 13 straight season opening games with their last loss occurring at the beginning of the 2009 season.
• Nogoduka recorded her second career hat trick (9/14/2021 vs Seton Hill), and already surpassed her goal total from the 2022 season (two).
• Ruley's assist on the second goal was the first of her collegiate career.
• Five players made their debuts as Marauders: Cugino, Daina Thomson, Lotje Schulpen, Alaina Culbert, and Erin Esterhuizen

 
POSTGAME REACTION FROM SHELLY BEHRENS

• First overall impressions: "Nice to win on the road. Really proud of the kids for that. I don't think it was our best outing, but I think it's game one, and we want to learn and get better. So, you know, to be able to win, and it's not that I don't feel good about the team, I feel great about the team, but I think we could have tidied up some things in different places. And that's what the first game allows us to do, just to get better for the second game."
• On Nogoduka's performance: "Yeah, she gave us what we needed when we needed it. And really, the people around her were really selfless. Emma Ruley, Bri Harsh, Codi Bollinger, Kristin Strijdom, Saige Shine and Morgan Lennon did a really great job. I think, you know, there's a lot of selflessness that occurred today. But I think it was just her individual effort to finish was really outstanding, and that's not something that you teach, that's innate."
• On what changed after the first quarter: "I think I think we just settled in a little. I think there are some nerves. Saint Anselm's a very good team, they're only going to get better. And I think we're a good team, and we're only going to get better. I think we actually bring out the best in each other, and it's a really good match to play. I enjoy playing against Saint Anselm, they're a good team. They're well coached, their coaching staff is great. Obviously, Kaeleigh was a part of that coaching staff, I just have a lot of respect for them. But I think it's a good start. To win and not feel great about it and know we can be better, that's a good problem. Like I like to say, I have good problems."
• Final thoughts and thoughts on the next matchup with Bentley: "I think once the kids settled in a little bit, found their rhythm with each other, the second and third quarters were probably our best. We're going to review a few things, hit on a couple of things, take care of our body's recovery. It's a tough trip to play two games in three days and then head home. We were on the bus yesterday; it was a really long bus trip for us, it was 13 hours. So the way the team handled that was incredible, and I see a mental strength in this team that I think it's going to serve them as we move forward. Bentley's a good team, and it's just another chance for us to get better.