East Stroudsburg, Pa. - 2015 was supposed be a rebuilding season for Millersville field hockey. But the Marauder club strung together 18 wins and reached the PSAC Championship game for the fourth consecutive season in spite of inexperience and season-ending injuries to two All-PSAC seniors. The odds may have caught up to them Sunday, though, as the Marauders lost a 1-0 decision on East Stroudsburg's home field.

Millersville (18-2) has lost just two of its 20 games and both came by 1-0 scores at East Stroudsburg (17-3). It was the rubber match between the clubs with Millersville winning the first meeting 1-0 at home in September. Millersville entered the season with just four seniors on the roster and two of them--Megan Donlan and Lauren Gerhart--watched injured from the sidelines. Donlan and Gerhart two of three players on the Millersville roster that started the PSAC Championship game in 2014.

"I don't think I could be more proud of our heart, our spirit and our guts today," said eighth-year head coach Shelly Behrens. "Our brains were a little out of sorts on occasion but for the 2015 team to compete for a PSAC Championship, go 18-2 and lose 1-0 on the road today, I couldn't be more proud of this group."

East Stroudsburg's starting lineup included 10 juniors or seniors, and the experience showed early as it earned a penalty corner at the 9:39 mark and another 30 seconds later. Off of the corner insert from Rebecca Snyder, Marisa Miro ripped a rising shot past Marauder keeper Samantha Rumler for the eventual game-winner.

East Stroudsburg picked up another corner and a shot on goal in the 17th minute, but Millersville controlled play over the final 53 minutes. Millersville earned three corners and took three shots to close the first half but two were turned away by ESU keeper Danielle Ard and another was blocked. The Marauders continued to swarm in the second, earning three corners to ESU's zero and holding a 3-0 edge in shots. But the equalizer never came.

Kathleen Bishop tested Ard early in the second, as did Margaret Thorwart in the 47th minute. Thorwart's initial shot was saved by Ard's right leg. Thorwart quickly followed with a shot that went past Ard but just wide of the left post. Millersville's final chance came with seven minutes to play. A penalty corner taken by Mizak was cleared out of the circle by ESU's defense.

"Today wasn't our day in (the goal scoring) part of the game," said Behrens. "Where we want to go in the NCAA's, we know this is a team we may see down the road. We lost the battle today but we want to win the war so to speak. Congratulations to East Stroudsburg for being the PSAC Champs, but for us, I'm exciting about where we are going and what we are doing."

Forced to play with a shorter-than-usual bench, Behrens called on four freshman to play on the attack for extensive periods of Sunday's game. A total of six freshmen saw action in the game, and will also be relied on heavily as the Marauders are expected to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third season in a row.

"(The freshmen) will remember it," said Behrens. "They have a taste of being here. It was just the little things to finish. The kids did a very good job, we were just one goal short."

The win gave East Stroudsburg its first PSAC Championship. Junior defender Emily Howell was named PSAC Tournament MVP.

Millersville's NCAA Tournament seeding and date of competition will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show Monday at 1 p.m. Fans can watch the show by clicking here.