Redemption can be so sweet. 

The Shippensburg University field hockey team toppled the No. 1 team in the nation, East Stroudsburg University on Wednesday, in convincing fashion while taking the win 4-1. 

The Raiders only loss on the season came at the hands of ESU, a team SU has become very familiar with. The Raiders knocked off the Warriors in the NCAA quarterfinals last season, so this game was bound to have a high-octane pace. 

Right from the start, Shippensburg was putting on the pressure, forcing defensive mistakes from the ESU defense. The Raiders’ leading scorer, Emily Barnard, got the ball rolling for the Raiders, burying a deceptive feed from senior Madison Scarr on a 2-on-1. 

East Stroudsburg put home the equalizer on a corner just minutes later, but Shippensburg goaltender Ally Mooney shut the door, turning away a flurry of ESU chances to keep the game knotted at 1-1. 

“She was our player of the game today,” head coach Tara Zollinger said. “A huge congrats goes out to Ally with how she continues to raise her level of play game to game.” 

With the Raiders dominating in shots and corners, the team was looking confident heading into the second half, ready to break out and begin to find the net.

Once again, Barnard put SU on top, whacking a cross-crease pass from Mary Spisak. Barnard’s finish was her 11th on the season, three more goals than any other player in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).

It was all downhill for ESU after Barnard cashed in for her second of the game. The Raiders stomped the Warriors flat, scoring three goals in just six minutes to take a commanding 4-1 lead. 

Shippensburg captain Kylie Huffman sent a 25-yard bomb downfield to connect with Rebecca Bouyea, who beat the sprawling ESU goaltender on a sweeping one-timer. 

SU’s pressure did not end there, though, forcing East Stroudsburg to defend back-to-back corners, ultimately giving Shippensburg a penalty stroke. Freshman Jazmin Petrantonio sent the ball into the top corner of the net to clinch the Raiders’ biggest win of the season.

The Raiders’ defensive play was particularly impressive against a high-scoring East Stroudsburg team. SU allowed only 14 shots and held a distinctive 20-6 advantage in corners. 

“We made some tactical adjustments [defensively] leading up to this game, and I was really impressed with how we were able to execute,” Zollinger said.

With Shippensburg’s victory over East Stroudsburg being a PSAC matchup, the Raiders now hold an important tiebreaker over their PSAC rivals. SU now has back-to-back weeks with a victory over a Top 2 team. 

“It was a great competition,” Zollinger said. “ESU is the best team we’ve faced by far, and those are the games you want to win, and we came out on top this time.”

Even though ESU was the Raiders’ biggest match of the season, both teams came together to support SU junior Megan Hart, who was recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Players, coaches and fans wore orange to represent awareness for leukemia in support of Megan. The Raiders will wear orange T-shirts for the rest of the season with the team’s new motto, “#HartStrong,” on the front.

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