It was a day filled with highs and lows for the Shippensburg field hockey team Saturday, dropping its Senior Day match against Kutztown University, 3-0. 

The Raiders honored their 11 seniors in a ceremony before the team’s final home game of the season. This senior class has helped bring tremendous success for the program, achieving a total record of 60-15, including two NCAA tournament appearances, four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) appearances, the 2016 Division II National Championship and a myriad of individual honors.

Following the ceremony, Shippensburg looked poised to get off to a strong start after two dominant victories earlier in the week in which the Raiders scored 18 goals. 

SU came into the match with a wave of confidence and momentum, but Kutztown came to play, stifling the Raiders’ attacks throughout the game. 

The Golden Bears started off strong and continued their strong play through the first 35 minutes, heavily out-possessing SU while limiting the Raiders’ chances to a few dangerous penalty corners. Kutztown scored twice just 11 minutes apart, putting Shippensburg on its heels early in the game. 

With the team looking at a two-goal deficit heading into halftime, the team began pushing back, generating some strong offensive chances in the last few minutes of the first frame, but the Golden Bears’ goaltender stood tall, turning away all nine Raider shots. With SU unable to cash in before halftime, the team needed a response to continue turning the game in its favor. 

As the second half wore on, Shippensburg again struggled to find success down the offensive wings, often losing possession before the team could center the ball to its forwards crashing the net. The Raiders’ offense began to click in the last 25 minutes, though, drawing multiple corners off individual efforts from the team’s forwards to push toward net. 

The team sent 11 second-half shots toward goal, but several goal-line stands and some key rebound cleanup by the Kutztown defense kept Shippensburg from making a dent in the Golden Bears’ lead. The Raiders earned 14 penalty corners and fired 20 shots toward goal but were unable to convert.

Kutztown added a late goal to seal a potential comeback for the Raiders. The team did not give up though, gaining back-to-back corners as the clock hit zero. 

Shippensburg is still in a top position in the PSAC as the team hits its final stretch of the season. Wednesday’s matchup with No. 3 Millersville University now has a heightened importance and could be the deciding factor between the host of the PSAC tournament. 

The Raiders came out on top in the last game between the two perennial PSAC powerhouses, taking the non-conference match, 6-1. This is a new Millersville squad, though, having won 10 straight games, including shutouts in nine of its last 10 games. 

The two teams will faceoff Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Millersville. 

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