GAME INFORMATION
PSAC Semifinal: No. 3 East - Millersville (13-6, 7-3 PSAC East) vs. No. 1 West - Shippensburg (17-1, 9-1 PSAC West)
Date: Friday, Oct. 26
Game Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Vonnie Gros Field, 855 S. New Street, West Chester, PA 19383

MEDIA
Championship Site
Visitor Information
PSAC Championship Records

GAME COVERAGE
Live Audio (MSBN)
Live Stats

TICKETS
Adults: $7
Students: $2
PSAC Students with ID: Free

West Chester, Pa. - After beating Bloomsburg 2-0 Tuesday for its first PSAC Tournament win since 1989, the Millersville field hockey team is preparing to face the No. 1-ranked Shippensburg Red Raiders in the PSAC Semifinals Friday evening at West Chester.

The Marauders (13-6) were already in unfamiliar territory, having not experienced postseason action since 1993. Prior to Tuesday's win, Millersville's last posteason win came by a 1-0 score over Bloomsburg 23 years ago.

Millersville is currently on a three game winning streak and has won six of its past seven games. Head coach Shelly Behrens' squad has scored twice as many goals as its opponents during that stretch, but she knows that her team will have to slow down a high-powered Red Raider attack.

"They are a dangerous team and there is a reason they are ranked where they are," Behrens said about Shippensburg. "In the postseason you need to rely on your defense, and we continue to build our team from the back to the front."

Goalkeeper Lauren Sotzin, along with the defensive unit, has been a big part of Millersville's success in 2012. With the shutout over Bloomsburg, Sotzin tied the Millersville record for most shutouts in a season with nine--a mark that has only been accomplished four times in program history and not since 1992.

Along with a stout defense, Behren's team is balanced on the attacking end.Their are multiple players who pose a threat to an opponents defense. "We have seven, eight, even nine players that can score and that makes us a very dangerous team," said Behrens. The offense broke through this season by scoring 36 goals for only the third time in the past 13 years.

After defeating Bloomsburg twice on the Huskies' home turf, the Marauders have embraced the role of the "underdog" and don't mind when their opponents underestimate their ability.

"We weren't pick to be here, but suprise, here we are," Behrens said. "We prepare the same for every game and our team makes themselves better. If a team underestimates us that doesn't effect us because we know that on any day, in any game we can compete with anyone, and we will."

Shippensburg (17-1) has won 10 straight games while Millersville has won eight of its last 10. Come Friday, the only thing that matters what happens on the field during the 70-plus minutes of play.

"We know what we are capable of doing, and it is the ability to go out and perform on the field and especially during crunch time that will help us get the result we want," said Behrens. "If we can put two complete halves of hockey together and rely on each other there is no telling what this team can accomplish."

With West Chester hosting the PSAC Championship, the Marauders and Red Raiders play at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct 6, on the Golden Rams' home turf. Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $2 for students. PSAC students with a student ID card received free admission.

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
• Millersville is in the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 1993 and earned its first PSAC Tournament victory since 1989 Tuesday in a 2-0 win over Bloomsburg. Millersville has never before defeated Bloomsburg twice in the same season and had not won back-to-back games over the Huskies since taking three in a row from 1977-79.
• Millersville's 13 wins match the most wins in a season since 1998 and a 14th win would set a school record for wins in a season.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• The series between Millersville and Shippensburg stands at 27-41-8 in favor of the Raiders. Shippensburg defeated Millersville 2-1 at Chryst Field on Sept. 6  and 2-0 on Sept. 29 at Shippensburg. Bre White scored both goals in the first meeting and scored one in the second. Ship scored the first two goals of both games and three of the goals came in the first half. Ship out-shot Millersville 20-11, but Millersville held an edge in corners, 17-15.
• Shippensburg had won 20 consecutive meetings from 1999-2009, but Millersville ended the skid with a 3-2 in 2011. Emily Litchford and Sarah Bomberger scored goals for the Marauders.

POSTSEASON HISTORY
• Millersville is making its eighth appearance in the PSAC Tournament. The Marauders qualified for the tournament seven times from 1984-1993. Millersville also won back-to-back PSAC Championships in 1985 and 1986.
• Millersville and Shippensburg have met in the PSAC Tournament three times (1980, 1984, 1985). Ship holds a 2-0 lead in the semifinal games, but Millersville won the 1985 PSAC Championship game by 2-1 score.

QUITE A TURNAROUND
• When Shelly Behrens arrived at Millersville in 2008, Millersville had posted nine consecutive losing seasons, had not won more than six games in a season in eight years and had not won more than three league games in 10 years. In five seasons, Behrens has posted a 45-49 overall record, placing her fourth in career wins among Millersville's 11 head coaches. The most amazing turnaround, however, is that the Marauders were 6-28 in the PSAC East in the four seasons prior to 2012. Millersville turned its league mark from 1-9 in 2011 to 7-3 in 2012. Millersville was picked fifth out of sixth teams in the PSAC East Preseason Poll.

STONEWALL SOTZIN
• Lauren Sotzin tied a school record with nine shutouts this season. She allowed more than two goals only twice all season. Three of the last five wins have come by shutout. Her .835 saves percentage ranks second in the PSAC behind Kristin Arnold of West Chester. Entering this week, Millersville ranked fifth in Division II in goals against average, and has improved that number to 0.98. Sotzin is also fifth nationally in saves percentage.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Lauren Sotzin has been recognized as the player of the week by two different groups this season. Most recently, on Oct. 23, she was named to womensfieldhockey.com's Division II Player of the Week Honor Roll. She was also named PSAC East Player of the Week on Sept. 17.

KEEP IT CLOSE
• Millersville has played nine games decided by just one goal and has posted a 6-3 record in those games. Since losing three-straight one-goal games, the Marauders have won five consecutive games decided by just one goal. Millersville is even better in the extra sessions, going 4-1 in overtime games.

BALANCING ACT
• Millersville does not rely on one or even two offensive players to get its goals. Instead, 14 different players have scored at least one goal and 10 have scored two or more. Of the four teams remaining in the playoffs, Millersville has the lowest goals per game average (1.89), but it has outscored opponents 36-19 and out-shot opponents 241-196. Katelyn Zapp, who scored four goals as a freshman in 2011, is tied for the team lead this season with five. Senior Ashley Weber is also tied with five goals and has a team-leading three game-winners. 10 different players have scored game-winning goals. Sarah Bomberger ist he team leader in assists with four, but four other players have at least two assists.

NOTHING NEW FOR COACHES
• Millersville's players may not have played in the PSAC Tournament before, but the team's coaches are familiar with posteason play. As the head coach at Richmond, Behrens led the Spiders to the CAA semifinals twice. She was also an assistant at Penn State when the Nittany Lions reached the NCAA Semifinals. As an assistant at Northeastern, her team won the America East Championship. As a player at Old Dominion, Behrens was the starting goalkeeper on the 1984 national championship team and the 1985 national runner-up club. Casey Horning won two Big East Championships with Louisville during her playing career.

ROUGH ROAD
• Millersville is certainly battled tested, having played one of the most difficult schedules in Division II. All six of Millersville's losses were to teams that were and are currently ranked fifth or higher in the national poll. Three of those losses (IUP, Shippensburg and Bloomsburg) were by just one goal. The Marauders have five wins over nationally-ranked opponents.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• Shippensburg is no stranger to the PSAC Semifinals, having reached the playoffs for a 12th consecutive season. Shippensburg claims only one PSAC Championship (2005) but has played in the title game in two of the last three years, including last season when it lost to Blomsburg, 3-1. It has played in the title game five times since 2003. Over the last four years, Shippensburg has run roughshod over the PSAC West, posting a 34-1 record. The team's only loss this season came against IUP by a 3-1 score.
• It is a potent offensive, having scored five or more goals in four consecutive games and eight times this season. The Raiders have outscored opponents 75-16 and totaled 194 penalty corners. The team is No. 1 in Division II in goals per game with 4.2.  Bre White ranks seventh nationally in goals per game and has 17 to her credit. The team also ranks third in goals against average, allowing 0.89 per game. White was an All-American last season and has 52 career goals. That ranks her sixth in Ship history.