SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University field hockey team continues Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition when it embarks on a two-game road trip 3 p.m. Friday at Millersville University and 5 p.m. Oct. 8 against Frostburg State University.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video and in-game statistics for both games will be available at the below links.
 
GAME 8 DETAILS
Opponent: Millersville
Date: Friday – 3 p.m.
Location: Millersville, Pennsylvania
Venue: Biemesderfer Stadium
Video: Link
Live Stats: Link
In-game Updates: X (formerly Twitter)
All-Time Series: MU leads 40-9-2
Last Played: Sept. 30, 2023 (MU won 2-0)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Millersville owns a 40-9-2 all-time record against The Rock in a series which began in 1979. The Marauders have won 18 straight games against SRU with Slippery Rock's last win in the series coming in 2007.
 
Leslie Colliver and Gianna Conti have scored the only two goals SRU has earned against Millersville dating back to the 2019 season – both of which came in a 2022 road contest at MU.
 
LAST MEETING
Goals in the second and fourth quarters proved too much for The Rock to overcome in a 2-0 victory for No. 8 Millersville Sept. 30, 2023 at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
Grace Burker kept SRU within striking distance of Millersville with five saves, including a stop on a second-half penalty stroke, while Colliver (2), Conti (1), Bailee Christman (1) and Erin Roland (1) all had shots on goal.
 
GAME 9 DETAILS
Opponent: Frostburg State
Date: Oct. 8 – 5 p.m.
Location: Frostburg, Maryland
Venue: Bobcat Stadium
Video: Link
Live Stats: Link
In-game Updates: X (formerly Twitter)
All-Time Series: SRU leads 18-11-1
Last Played: Sept. 5, 2024 (SRU won 2-1)

SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock has largely controlled the series against Frostburg State with wins in eight of its last 10 games versus the Bobcats to move their all-time record against FSU to a healthy 18-11-1.
 
Christman has shined against the Bobcats with seven points on three goals and one assist over five career games. Colliver also has two goals against Frostburg State. Haley Metcalf and Hilary Hoffman have one assist each when playing Frostburg State as well.
 
Burker is 3-2 against Frostburg State thanks to 11 saves and a 1.40 Goals Against Average.
 
LAST MEETING
Behind a pair of goals from Christman, Slippery Rock overcame an early deficit to defeat Frostburg State, 2-1, Sept. 5 at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for the season-opening win.
 
SRU overcame an early one-goal deficit thanks to Christman's strikes in the 25th and 50th minutes. Burker stopped a pair of shots and led a defensive unit which fended off four opponent corners in what was the senior's 19th career victory.
 

TEAM COMPARISON
Stats	SRU	MU	FSU
Overall Record	2-5	4-4	3-4
PSAC Record	0-2	1-1	0-1
Goals*	1.71	1.63	2.57
Opp. Goals*	4.00	1.38	2.57
Goal Differential	-16	+2	0
Shots*	9.0	10.0	12.6
Opp. Shots*	19.9	12.9	13.0
SOG*	6.1	6.1	7.9
Opp. SOG*	12.0	6.6	8.1
Corners*	4.7	8.1	6.9
Opp. Corners*	11.1	10.1	6.3
Saves*	8.0	5.3	5.6
* Per game stats

SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Stats: Link
Roster: Link
Overall Record: 2-5
PSAC Record: 0-2 (10th)
Home Record: 1-2
Away Record: 1-3
Streak: L5
Last 5 Games: 0-5
Head Coach: Rayell Wallace | Fifth season at SRU (20-37)
 
ROCK LEADERS
POINTS: Gianna Conti (10), Bailee Christman (8)
GOALS: Conti (4), Christman (3)
ASSISTS: Hilary Hoffman (2), Hazara Sandhu (2), Christman (2), Conti (2)
S.O.G.: Conti (14), Christman (7), Colliver (7)
SAVES: Grace Burker (48)
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock was unable to protect an early one-goal lead in a 2-1 loss Tuesday at home against Indiana University (Pa.).
 
SHOMO GETS ON THE BOARD
Madison Shomo supplied Slippery Rock with its lone goal against IUP thanks to a first-quarter tally to highlight a performance in which the sophomore forward came off the bench to record a team-high two shots on goal.
 
Shomo's goal was her first of the season and third of her career – she also scored twice in The Rock's 2-0 victory at Mercyhurst in 2023.
 
The State College, Pennsylvania native is already the ninth different Rock athlete to get at least one point this year – SRU had 11 through the duration of the 2023 campaign.
 
CONTI COMES THROUGH AGAIN
Gianna Conti earned the assist on Shomo's goal against IUP for what was her team-leading 10th point of the season.
 
Conti has now registered at least one point in four of The Rock's seven games this season by way of four goals and two assists.
 
2024 is shaping up to be a career-year for Conti, who has eclipsed her previous Slippery Rock career-high in assists while needing just two more goals to match her total goal output from 2023.
 
Additionally, Conti has already racked up a team-high 14 shots on goal – her previous Rock-best total was 15 in 2023.
 
WELL-ROUNDED OFFENSE
In addition to Conti's four goals and Shomo's first of the year, SRU has received goals from five others this season.
 
Christman joins Conti as The Rock's only other multi-goal scorer to date thanks to three that came in SRU's first two games – including a two-goal barrage against Frostburg State.
 
Hazara Sandhu, Leslie Colliver, Grace Williams and Feli Stockler have supplemented the attack with one apiece. The goals by Sandhu, Williams and Stockler were the first of their collegiate careers.
 
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Over the first seven games of the season, The Rock have posted assists on 83.3 percent (10-12) of their goals scored this season – up from 48 percent (12-25) in 2023.
 
SRU's assists have been evenly distributed among six athletes so far this year. Conti, Christman, Sandhu and Hilary Hoffman have two apiece while Colliver and Haley Metcalf have one each.
 
ATTACKING THE CAGE
Entering Friday's game against Millersville, Slippery Rock has put 43 of its 63 shots on goal.
 
Conti leads the way with her previously mentioned team-high 14 shots on goal while Christman (7), Colliver (7), Hoffman (6), Shomo (3) and Christina Clymer (2) have compiled multiple on-target attempts as well.
 
START #58 ON DECK FOR BURKER
Slippery Rock goalie Grace Burker will be making the 58th consecutive start of her career when she takes the field against Millersville, the third longest streak in program history alongside Kaili Simmons (2011-14) and four behind Liz Wolfe (2015-18) for second place.
 
The program record for consecutive starts belongs to Kayla Mack (2014-17), who started all 74 games of her collegiate career.
 
Entering the weekend, Burker has totaled 48 saves (.632) with 4.00 Goals Against Average. She leads the PSAC, and ranks eighth nationally, in saves per game at 6.86.
 
CONSISTENT STARTERS
Burker, Christman, Clymer, Conti, Metcalf and Megan Rude have started all seven games this season.
 
Meanwhile, Roz Mikulak has gone on to start the last six games after missing The Rock's season-opener while Hoffman has started all six games she has competed in this year and Sammy Graci has been in the starting lineup for four consecutive outings.  
 
STRONG IN THE SECOND HALF
The IUP game was somewhat of an anomaly for The Rock, which has been a second-half team for the majority of the year.
 
Against Indiana, SRU scored its lone goal and totaled five of its six shots on the day in the opening half. However for the season, 75 percent (9-12) of Slippery Rock's goal production, 71.4 percent of its shots (45-63) and 69.7 percent (23-33) of its penalty corners have come in the second half of games.
 
ACTIVE STREAKS
Starts: Grace Burker (57), Bailee Christman (44)
Games Played: Christman (57), Burker (57), Gianna Conti (50*)
Games With a Goal: Madison Shomo (1)
Games With a Shot: Conti (8), Madison Shomo (3), Christina Clymer (1)
Games With a SOG: Conti (8), Shomo (2)
Games With an Assist: Conti (1)
* Played 18 games as a freshman in 2021 at Belmont Abbey
 
NEXT FIVE GAMES
Oct. 8 (5 p.m.) at Frostburg State
Oct. 13 (12 p.m.) vs. East Stroudsburg – Alumni Day
Oct. 15 (3 p.m.) at Mansfield
Oct. 19 (2 p.m.) vs. Shippensburg – Senior Day
Oct. 23 (4 p.m.) vs. D'Youville – Morgan's Message Game
 
CAREER RECORDS WATCH
Points (No. 12-15)
t12: Gabrielle Malishchak (2009-12); 39
t12: Allison Shade (2011-14): 39
14: Kelsey Gustafson (2011-14): 38
t15: Bailee Christman: 36
t15. Deb Smith (1988-91): 36
t15: Leslie Colliver: 36
 
Goals (No. 14-20)
14. Kelsey Gustafson (2011-14): 15
t15. Barb Watson (1974-76): 14
t15. Gabrielle Malishchak (2009-12): 14
t15. Vicki Peterson (1994-97): 14
t15: Bailee Christman: 14
t15: Gianna Conti: 14
20: Leslie Colliver: 13
 
Assists
1. Megan McKay (2013-16): 15
2. Allie Hartman (2007-10): 14
3. Samantha Griffith (2001-02): 13
t4. Kayla Del Vecchio (2019-24): 11
t4. Kailee Krupski (2014-17): 11
t4. Gabrielle Malishchak (2009-12): 11
7. Leslie Colliver: 10
 
Saves
1. Lisa Belcastro (2007-10): 689
2. Tara Bailey (2003-06): 627
3. Grace Burker: 358
 
Goalie Wins
1. Judith Johns (1986-89): 33
2. Kerry McKnight (1996-99): 23
3. Grace Burker: 20
 
MILLERSVILLE PRIMER
Stats: Link
Roster: Link
Overall Record: 4-4
PSAC Record: 1-1 (t-4th)
Home Record: 3-2
Away Record: 1-2
Streak: L1
Last 5 Games: 2-3
Head Coach: Shelly Behrens | 16th season at MU (206-104)
 
MARAUDER LEADERS
POINTS: Emily Buss (9), Caitlin Wassermann (5)
GOALS: Buss (4), Gianna Cugino (2), Saige Shine (2)
ASSISTS: Wassermann (5), Morgan Lennon (2)
S.O.G.: Buss (10), Wassermann (7), Cugino (7)
SAVES: Kerstin Koons (37)
 
SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS
• Traditionally a national power, Millersville has evenly split its first eight games of the season having defeated Franklin Pierce (3-0), IUP (2-1 / 3-2) and New Haven (3-2) with losses against St. Thomas Aquinas (2-1), West Chester (1-0), Kutztown (2-1) and Shippensburg (1-0) mixed in.
 
• The Marauders average 1.63 goals, 10.0 shots and 8.1 penalty corners per game while allowing 1.38 goals, 12.9 shots and 10.1 corners.
 
• Emily Buss shoulders most of Millersville's offensive responsibilities with four goals while goalkeeper Kerstin Koons guides the defense with 37 saves (.771) and a 1.31 GAA.
 
FROSTBURG STATE PRIMER
Stats: Link
Roster: Link
Overall Record: 3-4
PSAC Record: 0-1 (t-8th)
Home Record: 2-1
Away Record: 1-2
Neutral Site Record: 0-1
Streak: L2
Last 5 Games: 2-3
Head Coach: Kaitlin Thompson | Eighth season at FSU (31-91)
 
BOBCAT LEADERS
POINTS: Paige Leitzel (14), Emma Price (8)
GOALS: Leitzel (6), Price (4)
ASSISTS: Leitzel (2), Emilie Bonhivert (2)
S.O.G.: Leitzel (16), Price (6), Bonhivert (6)
SAVES: Zoe Barnes (34)
 
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
• Since losing to The Rock in its 2024 season-opener, Frostburg State has gone on to record wins against Molloy (7-0), Lander (4-3) and Maryville (3-1) while losing to Pace (3-2), Saint Louis (7-1) and Mansfield (2-0).
 
• The Bobcats currently both score and allow 2.57 goals per contest with near identical per game shot totals as well (12.6-13.0).
 
• Frostburg State, which is on a current two-game losing streak, will play East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg prior to welcoming The Rock.
 
• Paige Leitzel ranks eighth in the nation in both goals per game (2.14) and goals per game (0.86).
 
• Zoe Barnes has been FSU's goalie of record for all seven games this season, stopping 34 shots (.667) and posting a 2.64 GAA.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock returns home to host No. 3 East Stroudsburg University 12 p.m. Oct. 13 on Alumni Day at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.




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