Shippensburg University’s field hockey team is gearing up for the 2024 season with a fire lit under them. 

After falling short last year in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship and the NCAA semifinal, the team hopes to find themselves back on the playoff stage and reach gold. 

The program has a successful legacy. The Raiders have been PSAC champions twice and Division II national champions six times. Out of the last six national championship wins, five have occurred in the last 11 years. 

Last season, the team’s record was 15-5. In the PSAC championship tournament, the team lost in the championship to East Stroudsburg 1-0. A few days later, the team was chosen as the No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row and traveled to Manchester, New Hampshire for the semifinal against Kutztown University. The Bears defeated the Raiders with a stroke penalty in the final minutes of the game and were the future 2023 DII national champions. 

Fifteen SU field hockey players are returning from the 2023 season. Senior Yasmin De Meyer, an All-PSAC Second Team selection last year, reflected on the previous seasons. “Now we know what it feels like to lose, that just makes us want it that much more,” she said. “We know that there needs to be an extra push and we’re willing to make it.”

As for the 2024 season, the Raiders have six freshman, two graduate transfers, and a junior transfer joining their ranks. The new SU field hockey members include Avery Austin, Emily Bitters, Elaina Fragrassi, Anne Gardner, Annika Madeja, Gabby Wameling, Josefina Golppi, Kristen McCormick and Kelly Naudé. The team also added Grae Meinke and Kayla Snyder, two sophomore transfers last spring semester. 

Head Coach Tara Zollinger spoke on how excited she is for this new group of athletes to join the SUFH family. She said, “There are so many different experiences and so many different talents coming together, which I feel makes it a very balanced group that will strengthen our unit as a whole.” 

The Raiders were picked third in the PSAC preseason coaches’ poll, receiving one first-place vote. Kutztown was first with 8 first-place votes and East Stroudsburg was second with 1 first-place vote.  The rankings were solely based on coaches’ feedback and do not reflect any statistical analysis. 

According to Coach Zollinger, the team is looking to achieve specific goals during preseason, including learning new press structures tactically and establishing team-unifying values. 

The Raiders will begin their first two games on the road against the University of Mount Olive and Belmont Abbey the weekend of Sept 6. The team will have their first competition at home on Sept. 13 against New Haven at Robb Sports Complex at 3 p.m. 

Share