Senior day for the Shippensburg University lacrosse team closes out the season with the Raiders falling to Slippery Rock University, 18-6.

SU honored its five seniors at Robb Sports Complex: Amanda Frank, Ali Harclerode, Max Barkley, Annemarie Cericola and Julia Wise for their contributions and dedication to the program. It was not for lack of opportunities for Shippensburg, though, with SU pumping the cage with 25 shots.

A stellar performance in net by Slippery Rock goaltender Emily Bitka kept the Raiders from taking over early in the second half, where SU scored three of the opening four goals, but Bitka stood confident in the net, turning away chance after chance by the home squad. Bitka ended the day with 12 saves.

Neither team was able to break free for a substantial lead for the majority of the first half, with SU’s goalie Bridgette Morrissey fighting off flurries of offense by Slippery Rock. A few quick goals before the end of the half gave the Rock a 5-1 lead and all the momentum as the teams separated for the intermission.

The Raiders came out with fire in the second half, running, shooting and battling harder than the first 30 minutes. Three times SU closed the gap to a two-goal deficit, but point-blank stops in front of the net halted SU’s attempts at a comeback.

In her final game at Shippensburg, Barkley was electric, slicing through Slippery Rock’s defense time and time again to create traffic in front of the opposing goal. Barkley finished her SU career with a hat trick in the loss. Frank and Harclerode both added goals in their final games, with Harclerode breaking the 30-goal plateau for the first time in her career.

After a hard fought first 10 minutes of the second half, Slippery Rock starting rolling, building a lead that SU could not recover from.

Despite the loss, the Raiders head coach Nicole Miller can now reflect on how talented her senior core was this year.

“It was very special, this group of seniors, Miller said.” “We look for their leadership in every single game, and they will always hold a special place within Ship [lacrosse].”

Shippensburg graduates some historically talented players this season. Barkley holds the school record in draw controls with 265, after grabbing 83 this season, second most in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Cericola leaves Shippensburg as the school record holder for most ground balls in school history with 230.

With the offseason up ahead, Miller and company have time to regroup and compete for a playoff spot next season. With seven wins in her premier season with Shippensburg, the best mark since 2014, Miller looks to have the program headed in the right direction to become one of the top teams in the PSAC East.

“They bought in, and they wanted to change and do well this year, and that was the big adjustment we needed from past years,” Miller said. “They needed to trust me, I needed to trust them, and in special moments and times I needed them to step up and take charge. And in some of those [big] games, that’s who it was.”

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