Millersville, Pa. – Millersville entered the PSAC Tournament seeded fourth and considering only the top three teams in the region make the NCAA tournament, the Marauders' home game against Bloomsburg could have been their last. Margaret Thorwart was not going to let that happen.

The Marauders defeated the Huskies 2-0 to move on to the PSAC semifinals and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Thorwart bombarded Bloomsburg goalkeeper Lindsey Cassel with three shots on goal, two of which found the back of the cage.

"I thought Margaret was great," said Marauders' coach Shelly Behrens. "Her play was huge today."

Thorwart's first goal came with 16:28 remaining in the second half, off a rebound from Olivia Hershey's shot. Cassel blocked Hershey's shot, but in doing so was forced to go to the ground. Thorwart swooped in and one-timed the loose ball into the goal to put Millersville on top, where it would remain for the duration of the game.

"We created a lot of chances today," said Behrens, whose team out-shot Bloomsburg 12-5.

Another one of those chances came merely five minutes into the second half. Hershey once again was partially responsible, this time assisting Thorwart on her second goal of the game. It was Thorwart's second two-goal performance of the year.    

"Liv gave me a perfect pass," said Thorwart.

Thorwart's three shots were just a small portion of the offensive edge Millersville held in the win. Millersville took nine shots on goal, Bloomsburg only had three, and two of those came in the final minutes of the game. Marauder goalie Samantha Rumler saved all three shots that she faced.

"We had a different level of focus today," said Behrens, comparing their last effort against the Huskies (a hard-fought 2OT comeback win).

The win is number five in the last six games for Millersville, and the eighth consecutive over Bloomsburg.

"It was definitely an important win for us," said Thorwart. "We didn't want this to be our last game."

The win advances Millersville to the PSAC semifinals, where it will take on East Stroudsburg. The Warriors of ESU are the top-ranked team in both the PSAC and the NCAA.  

A win over East Stroudsburg could give Millersville enough for third and final spot in the regional. West Chester, also in the mix, is set to take on Shippensburg, where it too will play for the right to move on to the NCAA Tournament.

West Chester plays the 12 p.m. game Friday, and Millersville takes on East Stroudsburg at 2:30 p.m.