SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University field hockey team lost a home Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game to eighth-ranked Millersville University, 2-0, Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
The home defeat drops The Rock's record to 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the PSAC while the nationally ranked Marauders improve to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in league games.
Rock goalkeeper
Grace Burker made five saves over 90 minutes, including a key stop on a penalty stroke that kept SRU within striking distance of Millersville in the second half.
Offensively, SRU was paced by
Leslie Colliver who registered two shots on goal.
Erin Roland and
Bailee Christman added one shot on target apiece as well.
Saturday/s game was an evenly-matched contest for the near duration of the game with Millersville capitalizing on two key plays to make the difference in the match.
Following a scoreless opening quarter, Millersville finished a penalty corner as Emily Buss deflected in a Codi Bollinger attempt for the game's first goal in the 21st minute. Burker made one a final first-half save with two minutes left in the second to keep MU's lead at 1-0 heading into the halftime break.
Slippery Rock continued to fend off the Millersville attack in the third quarter with the highlight being Burker's penalty stroke save against Kristin Strijdom.
However, the Marauders eventually broke through The Rock's back line for an insurance goal in the fourth quarter when Morgan Lennon navigated through SRU's defense before slipping an attempt past Burker for a goal at 55:03.
SRU recorded two shots in the game's final minutes, but both attempts were stopped by Millersville's Kerstin Koons to secure the two-goal win.
For the game, Millersville held advantages over The Rock in total shots (9-4), shots on goal (7-4) and penalty corners (8-6).
Slippery Rock starts a two-game road trip with a non-conference game 5 p.m. Oct. 3 at Frostburg State University.
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