INDIANA, Pa. – The eighth-ranked IUP field hockey team could not hold on to an early lead, falling 2-1 to fifth-ranked Millersville on a sun-soaked Saturday at Miller Stadium.
 
IUP (8-6, 2-4) jumped ahead 1-0 on a deflection goal from Shelby Harnish, redirecting in a shot from Cara Betancourt early in the second period. It turned out to be the lone shot attempt of the day for the Crimson Hawks, who struggled to figure out an active Millersville (12-3, 5-2) defense.
 
The Marauders started to take control of the contest in the second half, finding the net twice and holding on for the victory. Millersville outshot IUP by a 13-1 margin and held a slight 7-5 edge in penalty corners.
 
The Crimson Hawks have some work to do over the stretch run of the regular season to make the PSAC Tournament, currently on the outside looking in seventh place. Brooke Eberly collected seven saves for IUP between the pipes.
 
Harnish deflected in her sixth goal of the season just about one minute into the second quarter after Betancourt played a shot from the top of the circle. Eberly made a pair of saves for the Crimson Hawks from there, taking a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
 
Late in the third, Bri Harsh put the Marauders on the board, deflecting a Kate Strickland shot for her fifth goal of the season. IUP drew several penalty corner chances in the fourth, but could not capitalize.
 
Millersville scored the go-ahead goal with just under five minutes remaining in regulation as Pili Zaballa made solid contact on a bouncing ball in the slot.
 
Harnish has scored in consecutive games for the Crimson Hawks. At the time of release, IUP sits just one game behind Bloomsburg for the final playoff spot in the PSAC.
 
Up Next
IUP hits the road for an important PSAC matchup against Slippery Rock on Wednesday, November 2 at 4:00 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP field hockey on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfieldhockey.