MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — A late goal from
Saige Shine helped power the Marauders past Slippery Rock in the final minute of regulation to lead them to a 2–1 win on Friday afternoon. The Marauders are now 5–4 overall and 2–1 against PSAC opponents.
The game started fairly slow, with both teams trading possession rather than chances off the opening whistle. The first shots came from Millersville, but
Gianna Cugino's attempts were saved and blocked before The Rock cleared the zone. With about five minutes remaining in the first quarter off a penalty corner, Leslie Colliver passed it to Hilary Hoffman off a penalty corner, who then fired a shot from just inside the arc that found the back of the net to put The Rock up 1–0. However, Millersville was able to even the score before the teams went into halftime. With a little under four minutes left in the second quarter, there was a scrum near the right post of the Slippery Rock goal. As players fought for the ball, it popped out to
Emily Buss, who turned and slapped a backhand shot that beat the goalkeeper nearside to even the score.
The second half was similar gameplay, as neither team had plenty of chances, but each squad nearly broke the tie. The best chance of the frame came from the Marauders in the back half of the third quarter off a penalty corner. After
Morgan Lennon received a pass off a penalty corner from
Saige Shine, she darted to the right and nearly found
Aftyn Robbins on the backdoor for the tap in goal. Robbins' shot was stopped, and although she was able to regain possession and center the ball, it was cleared by a Slippery Rock defender. In the fourth quarter, Slippery Rock had the first look at a second goal five minutes in. The Rock had two penalty corners, taking three shots. The Marauders defense performed well, blocking two, while
Kerstin Koons stopped the other to keep it tied. With time running down, Millersville was able to transition from defense to offense with a minute left and earn a penalty corner. Shine passed it to Lennon again, who took the shot this time but was stopped. The rebound bounced right to Buss, and Shine snuck behind the defense off the penalty corner and was there for the game-winning goal.
Millersville will wrap up a busy stretch of three games in five days with a home meeting against Maryville at noon on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Biemesderfer Stadium.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The shots category was fairly even between the two teams, with Slippery Rock holding a 9–8 advantage, but the Marauders led in shots on goal 5–3.
- Slippery Rock had nine penalty corners to Millersville's five.
- Hoffman led all players in shot attempts with four, while Cugino and Lennon each had two to lead Millersville.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH SHELLY BEHRENS
- Overall thoughts on the game: "It's always good to win a conference game at home. I'm glad we found a way to win and persevered. Credit to a good PSAC team, and we understand we have to bring our best for every game. Hats off to Slippery Rock for bringing out a heck of a game, but we're going to keep learning and getting better."
- On a slower-paced game compared to vs. Shippensburg: "You can't replicate one game to be another game, but it's on us to make the adjustments we need to make, to play at our level, and it goes back to our attitude towards each game too. We did a lot of good things today, but I think we got a little too focused on the score compared to trying to win our way."
- On the late urgency and goal: "It was outstanding. It was great perseverance and credit to them. With Emma Ruley earning the corner, that was great for her, and the team finding a way to finish. I thought Erin Esterhuizen was really good today, as well as Saige and Morgan on the inside. We got some good minutes from Faith Bollinger, and then Peyton Bean, Daniella Fazekas, and Myah Yesko in the backfield were all outstanding. Everybody's contributing."
- On Sunday's game against Maryville: "They're brand new to Division II, they're a well-coached team too. We're excited to host them here at the 'Ville, and looking forward to having a good game with them."
