WEST CHESTER, Pa. — The Millersville Marauders battled for three solid quarters, but No. 3 West Chester used a late fourth-quarter scoring frenzy to secure a 22–11 victory.

Both teams started strong. West Chester scored the first goal, but a drive and dish from Rachel Keeney set up Ella Linthicum to tally the first Marauder goal. West Chester responded with another goal, but Millersville answered with two back-to-back goals to take a 3–2 lead. Keeney had a solo drive to notch goal two and assisted Linthicum on goal three. The Golden Rams regrouped and added three more goals, creating some distance heading into the second quarter.

"Rachel and Ella played their best games to this point in the season," said Head Coach Mike Faith. "That's what seniors do—they step up in big games, and I was very proud of them."

West Chester gained the upper hand in the second quarter, outscoring the Marauders 4–1 to extend their lead to 10–5. While the deficit remained manageable, Millersville needed to chip away to stay competitive.

The teams traded goals in the third quarter. The offensive effort was led by Ashlyn Simonetti and Linthicum, who each scored two goals, while Kaleigh Funk tallied a man-up goal. The high-scoring quarter helped the Marauders keep the game close, 15–10.

"The offense did a good job controlling the pace of play, especially in the first three quarters," said Faith. "We took quality shots and finished early on."

West Chester recorded the first goal of the fourth quarter, followed by Funk's third goal of the day in the 50th minute. However, the Golden Rams shut out the Marauders for the remainder of the quarter and scored six more goals, securing their second conference victory.

"No one was happy with losing today, and I was happy about that," said Faith. "We will take away that we can play with one of the best teams in the country—we just have to do it for a full 60 minutes."

Despite the loss, Millersville competed at a high level against a top-five team. They will face another challenge against nationally ranked East Stroudsburg on Saturday, March 22, at noon.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Keeney and Linthicum recorded season highs. Linthicum scored four goals, and Keeney registered five assists.

• The Marauders have faced the Golden Rams 58 times; this is their 14th time scoring more than 10 goals against them.