MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Millersville field hockey team put together its second straight dominant shutout performance in a row, defeating the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans 6–0 Wednesday night. The Marauders now stand at 3–1.
 
The Marauders had five different goal scorers, as Codi Bollinger got the game started for Millersville, scoring early and picking another goal up later to score her first two of the season. Qhayiya Nogoduka added another goal to her team-high six goals on the season, and Morgan Lennon and Caitlin Wassermann also scored their first goal each of the season. Later in the game, Erin Esterhuizen recorded her first collegiate goal. Kerstin Koons started the game in goal, and Sarah Crysler played in the second half, making four stops.
 
The Marauders wasted no time getting started and controlling play, with Bri Harsh taking a penalty corner three minutes in and finding Bollinger at the top of the arc. Bollinger settled the pass and fired a shot in just inside the arc to get the scoring started for Millersville. Later in the first, the Spartans would receive a green card, and right before the penalty expired, Wassermann scored off an assist from Kortlin Yetter. Yetter, a redshirt senior, made her season debut after missing the first three games. The forward appeared in 21 games last season and scored 10 points, and head coach Shelly Behrens said it looked like she didn't miss a beat in her first game back.
 
"It was nice to see you're back on the field," Behrens said. "I thought she had a goal or two twice there, but she really created a lot of opportunities."
 
Millersville kept the pressure on in the second, as they broke through again five minutes into the quarter. Bollinger received another corner from the top of the arc and passed it off to her left to Kristin Strijdom, who played keep away from two Spartans before passing back to Bollinger, as she found an open lane and scored.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Spartans still didn't have an answer for the Millersville pressure, with the Marauders having a flurry of chances minutes into the third quarter. Lennon intercepted a pass at midfield and weaved through the Spartans defense before passing it to Harsh, who shot it towards Nogoduka for a deflection attempt that was blocked, but Nogoduka cleaned up the loose ball and put the Marauders up 4–0. A couple minutes later, the Spartans got some time in the offensive zone and generated a pair of penalty corners. Crysler stood tall, making two saves, and the defense blocked the last shot before clearing the zone.
 
Behrens spoke highly of her sophomore goalkeeper in the preseason and gave Crysler some praise for her recent performances.
 
"Sarah's been great, it's hard to step in and be that person," Behrens said. "She is just fantastic at just being in the game. And a lot of credit to our goalkeeping unit right now for doing a good job of getting the shut out. It's not easy, I thought [St. Thomas Aquinas] had a lot of opportunities today, but our corner defense and our goalkeepers did a nice job."
 
Later in the third, Daina Thomson took a corner for the Marauders and passed it into Esterhuizen, who, similarly to Bollinger's first tally, received it at the top of the arc and shot it through traffic for her first collegiate goal.
 
With the game winding down in the fourth quarter, Saige Shine passed it to Lennon off a corner, who took one step in and found the back of the net with her shot, giving Millersville five goals off of penalty corners.
 
The Marauders next game is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at Biemesderfer Stadium where they'll host the 4–1 Frostburg State Bobcats.
 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Marauders outshot the Spartans 26–9 and lead in shots on goal 9–4.
• Millersville scored five of its goals off of 23 penalty corners, with eight penalty corners each in the second and third quarter.
• Crysler stopped all four shots on goal for the Spartans, bringing her save total up to six on the season.
• Bollinger led the Marauders in shots with five with three on goal. Nogoduka, Esterhuizen, and Gianna Cugino each had three shots as well.
• Strijdom's assist is her team-high third on Bollinger's second goal.

 
GAME NOTES

• Millersville is now 3–0 against the Spartans and have shut them out each time, outscoring them 18–0.
• The Marauders have won 13 straight games at Biemesderfer Stadium dating back to the end of the 2021 season.
• Esterhuizen joined Alaina Culbert as the first two freshmen this season to record a point for the Marauders.

 
POSTGAME REACTION FROM SHELLY BEHRENS
 
Thoughts on the win: "I really liked that balance of scoring tonight from penalty corners and, from the field. I thought we created a lot of opportunities, and again, getting different people in the game and getting that experience. Great team win."
 
On the early goal: "I think we're growing. Every team, you go through a phase from September to October, we're still in September. And we're growing and I think we're a better team today than we were last time."
 
On differences from the last game: "What was nice was that I thought we were sharper. And I think if we can keep getting better each day, that's all I ask them is that 'hey, can we be better? Can each person be 1% better?' Erin [Esterhuizen] getting her first college goal was great off a corner. I thought Codi had some nice things. I think some things we tried to force, but we're learning together and that's fun for me to see. We're three and learn."
 
On the upcoming week-long break between games: "I think it's a great time to learn and tidy up some things, spend some film time with individuals on the team. So we're using this time to our benefit. I think anytime you have a day off or extra day off, take the win."