Shippensburg University’s No. 1 nationally ranked field hockey team prevailed in postseason play the past two weeks, defeating Bloomsburg in Nov. 8’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) semifinal 2-1 in overtime, before picking up a 1-0 overtime win against East Stroudsburg on Nov. 10 to win the PSAC championship. They then beat Limestone 3-2 on Saturday to earn a spot in the NCAA semifinals.

The semifinal against the Huskies saw a scoreless first half, with the Raiders holding Bloomsburg without a single shot for the first 30 minutes. SU was unable to convert any of their 10 shots or three penalty corners.

Bloomsburg scored first in the match, with Ayden McFarland scoring off a penalty corner to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 well into the fourth quarter, with the Raiders having many chances to score but not capitalizing.

Shippensburg pulled its goalie with 1:34 remaining, giving them an extra player on offense. Senior Yasmin De Meyer then earned a penalty corner. The Raiders had their first two shots blocked, but senior Valu Paul scored her sixth goal of the season to tie the game with 54 seconds remaining.

The match moved into overtime. The period’s first penalty corner went to the Raiders, as sophomore Carme Caracotche Picone earned it with 3:37 left. She provided the insert, and senior Alexa Michielsen scored on the corner’s first shot to give Shippensburg a 2-1 victory.

“We’ve been practicing overtime a lot this week and it was kind of like a last-minute plan where we read what was happening” Michielsen said. “I received the ball and Agus Garibaldi to my left said, ‘Shoot the ball,’ and I shot it.”

SU outshot Bloomsburg 30-4, including 15 shots on goal. They earned 13 penalty corners in the match, but still needed to convert in overtime to get the win.

SU head coach Tara Zollinger spoke on her team’s resilience, saying, “We have played pressure games in practice, and then we have experience doing them in real games this year … it just really shows the heart of this team and the desire.”

The victory moved the Raiders to the PSAC championship game at home against East Stroudsburg, a defensive contest between two evenly matched teams. The first half saw just three shots for each team, with none reaching the back of the net.

The match remained scoreless after three quarters, despite ESU outshooting SU 4-0 in the third quarter. 

The Raiders then had three corners in the fourth quarter, including one in the final minute, but were unable to convert, sending the game to overtime still tied at zero.

SU earned a pair of penalty corners in the overtime period but couldn’t earn a goal on either one. The Raiders had another offensive chance with about three minutes remaining, with Michielsen taking advantage of a pending corner to catch the ESU defense off guard, and scored with an assist from senior Agus Garibaldi, giving SU a 1-0 victory and a PSAC championship.

Zollinger spoke postgame about the team’s defense, saying, “We were really strong in how we were able to create double teams and communicate defensively. That’s been something we’ve been working on, so I’m super proud to see them execute that.”

SU outshout East Stroudsburg 11-9 in the match, also earning six penalty corners compared to five for the Warriors.

The result was the first PSAC championship for the Raiders since 2021, with Michielsen being named PSAC Tournament MVP for her pair of game-winning goals. 

This also made this season’s senior class the only one in program history to win a pair of conference championships.

Redshirt junior Emma Albee made five saves in the victory, earning her ninth shutout of the season.

“It was awesome to do it again on our home field” Albee said.  “I had full faith in this team, and I knew we could get it done, but it feels amazing.”

SU earned the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships, leading to Saturday’s first round game at home against Limestone. The Saints struck first, scoring in the first quarter, but Garibaldi then scored off an assist from De Meyer to make it 1-1 after one quarter.

 Speaking about the team’s mindset after going down early, Zollinger said, “Our team’s comfortable playing down. I think that it fires them up and it gets them refocused. I think it was a quick fix to clean up how we were playing on defense.”

The Raiders then earned a penalty stroke late in the second quarter, with Garibaldi converting it for her second goal of the game and her 18th of the season. SU led 2-1 at half.

Senior Nya Gilchrist added a goal just 38 seconds into the third quarter off an assist from sophomore Hannah White to make it 3-1.

Limestone added a penalty corner goal later in the third to make it 3-2. The SU defense held the Saints to just one corner and four shots the rest of the way, holding on for the victory.

SU outshout Limestone 13-10, with nine shots on goal. They also earned nine penalty corners in the match, including five in the second quarter.

The result advanced SU to the NCAA semifinals, hosted by Limestone in Gaffney, South Carolina. 

They will face No. 4 seed Kutztown on Friday at 2 p.m., and the match will be viewable on NCAA.com. 

It is the third match of the season between the teams, with SU winning 2-0 on the road in September and 3-2 at home in October.

Zollinger discussed the focus in preparing for the match, saying, “They have a really, really strong midfield and the last time we played was a midfield battle. We’re going to take a look back at that game and make sure we are strong both on the attack and defense side with our midfield play.”

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