MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — The Marauders battled and held strong against Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), fending off the Crimson Hawks to win 2–1.
 
It was a down-to-the-wire finish as Millersville clung to a one-goal lead after jumping out ahead 2–0. After a quiet first quarter with no shots for either side, IUP put the pressure on early in the second frame. In the first half of the period, the Crimson Hawks had five penalty corners and generated eight shots. The Marauders back line held down the fort, as goalkeeper Kerstin Koons made four saves, Caroline Griffin and Caitlin Wassermann each made a defensive save, and the defense clogged up the lanes to neutralize the chances. 
 
In the Marauders first sustained pressure of the second quarter, Lauren Kampi took a penalty corner and passed to Gianna Cugino at the top of the arc. The senior took a long shot that found the back of the net to put the Marauders up 1–0. The Crimson Hawks pushed back into the Marauders zone, but a quick transition back to offense had Emily Buss alone with the keeper, as she was able to get past her and double Millersville's lead. 
 
"When we lean on each other like how our bench stepped up tonight, that's when we're at our best," head coach Shelly Behrens said. "Our bench stepped up and we stuck to our game when we scored. We can't try too hard to do everything perfect, but we'll learn from that."
 
IUP pushed back the entire second half, but it wasn't until late in the third quarter they would get through the stingy Marauders defense, as Lauren Horning scored on a penalty corner off an assist from Lilly Fringer to cut the Crimson Hawks deficit to one. IUP remained on the offensive in the final frame, getting another five penalty corners in its push to force overtime. At one point, the Crimson Hawks had a chance on a penalty corner with just two Marauder defenders to come out and challenge them, but Millersville was able to withstand that chance and clear the ball. 
 
With four minutes left, Millersville was assessed a green card, and the Crimson Hawks took the opportunity to substitute their goalkeeper for an extra attacker, playing the final moments of the game with an empty net. The Marauders bent, with the Crimson Hawks getting four penalty corners in the last minute of play. With 22 seconds on the clock, Koons made a sharp save on Sydney Schmouder, and also making a stop on the rebound from Fringer before the Crimson Hawks got another corner. However, the Marauders wouldn't budge, as they were able to gain possession with the clock at zeroes and hold on in dramatic fashion.
 
"Hat's off to Kerstin [Koons] and our corner defense," Behrens said. "The play where we had two defenders back, that's not something we've practiced. The fact that we came out of that and defended it well, I'm proud of that. We had some bumps along the way, but we'll learn from that, and it's nice to learn from a win like this."
 
The Marauders avenged last season's overtime loss to the Crimson Hawks and will face off against IUP one more time later this month. This game does not count towards Millersville's conference record, but Behrens believes playing its rival early on will better prepare the Marauders for the gauntlet that is the PSAC.
 
"The coaches across the PSAC schools talked before the season, and we thought playing each other was a great opportunity," Behrens said. "We only get better, and we make each other better in the PSAC. We have two non-conference games before we head to West Chester, so this helps us get better before that… It's nice to win at home. IUP is a great conference opponent, they're a tough team to play. I'm proud of us getting this win despite fighting through some adversity. The kids really gutted out this win and it's great to end on the winning side."
 
Millersville is now 2–0 and will look to remain perfect with two more games before the week ends. The Marauders travel to take on St. Thomas Aquinas in their first road game of the season at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13 in Sparkill, N.Y..
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Marauders defended their half of the field for the majority of the game, but had an opportunistic night on offense. Millersville scored on its only two shots on goal, and IUP outshot the Marauders 18–3.
• Koons and the defense came up big all night, making 10 saves, including Griffin's defensive save early in the second quarter. Part of the Crimson Hawks pressure came from their advantage in penalty corners, which was 19–5.

GAME NOTES

• Millersville is now 30–17–1 against IUP, winning 11 of the last 13 meetings going back to 2014.
• Griffin's defensive save was the fourth of her career. The graduate student recorded one of the team's four last season, and has now tallied one in each year she's played at Millersville. Wassermann's was the second of her career after notching one last season.