Field hockey is a game of speed, determination and grit. This season, Shippensburg University senior Katelyn Grazan has displayed these traits with stunning success.

Grazan has taken the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) by storm, scoring eight goals in just 11 games, already eclipsing her goal total from last season. Grazan has been the heartbeat of the field hockey team in her final year as a Raider. She ranks first in goal scoring for the Raiders and second overall in the PSAC.

SU has been remarkable defensively this year, shutting out opponents left and right. Grazan’s goal scoring prowess has become vital to the team taking steps toward becoming PSAC champs.

Grazan’s goals have been clutch, too, as she leads Shippensburg and the PSAC with four game-winning goals.

For Grazan, field hockey runs in the family.

“When I was really little, I would actually watch my sister play,” Grazan said. “She was always really good at [field hockey], so I just kind of went off of her.”

Grazan, a native of Manheim, Pennsylvania, has been improving season after season as a Raider. But she has not become one of the premier PSAC players on her own.

“Especially with our coach Bertie Landes, she just helped us develop into the player we want to be,” Grazan said.

SU head coach Landes has assembled this group of players from different places, with different skills into a team with machine-like structure. The team now has a league leading nine shutouts in 11 games, one of SU’s best starts in team history.

A common theme that transcends nearly all sports is the philosophy that defense leads to offense. But for Grazan, it has been the greatest contributing factor to her individual success.

“I couldn’t do it without my team. I really couldn’t,” Grazan said.

The Raiders now stand at 10–1 on the season, reeling off five wins in a row following a heartbreaking, overtime loss to the defending PSAC Champs, East Stroudsburg University.

The bar is set high for this year’s team, and Grazan believes this is the team that can do it.

“Our goal is first to win PSACs, and then our second goal is to win nationals. But we always like to try to take it one game at a time,” Grazan said. “There’s a big picture, but we always like to take it piece by piece.”

Each player for this team has been instrumental to reaching SU’s goals this season. Grazan has been Shippensburg’s MVP thus far, but she knows field hockey is a team sport.

“As long as I have my teammates behind me, we [will] just keep scoring.” 

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