Coming off its first win at the end of September, Shippensburg University’s women’s soccer team pushed to improve its record.
The team won one match on Wednesday against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles and tied another with the East Stroudsburg Warriors on Saturday. The Raiders are currently seventh in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East standings with a 2-5-2 record.
Against Lock Haven, Shippensburg played aggressively in the first half and had 11 shots compared to Lock Haven’s two. The Raiders also drew five corners and were outnumbering the Bald Eagles when Lock Haven junior Leana Cuzzocrea received a yellow card, but the team failed to score until the second half.
The first and only goal of the game came with 20 minutes remaining. Shippensburg junior Ryleigh Cook scored the lone goal after anticipating a header from freshman Lannah Werynski.
During the second half, the Bald Eagles offensive efforts increased significantly with nine more shots, but Shippensburg’s defense held them off for the rest of the game.
The Shippensburg goalkeeper, redshirt sophomore Kirstin Brown, had six saves for all six shots on goal. Afterward, Brown attributed the team’s success to communication and finding a sense of “urgency.”
“Communication was extremely high, and the backfield was listening to me,” Brown said. “We worked really well on transitions.”
The 1-0 win against Lock Haven was the team’s second win of the season. After facing several losses at the start of the year, the Raiders were trying to find a sense of momentum in a difficult time.
“Definitely will say that the past couple of games, it sucks when you’re coming off of a loss,” Brown said. "From Millersville, we took that loss and used it as momentum to keep going.”
The women’s soccer team played a more evenly matched conference opponent, East Stroudsburg, Saturday.
Shippensburg was the team to strike first in this match as well, again scoring with about 20 minutes remaining. Werynski shot her first goal with an assist from freshman Cailin Spelman.
In the last seven minutes, the Raiders could not stop East Stroudsburg, allowing a goal from ESU senior Natalie Schooley assisted by redshirt junior Abby James.
Ending the week with a 1-1 tie, the women’s soccer team hopes to keep the momentum alive heading into the second half of the season. For the Raiders next game, the team will travel to Bloomsburg for another conference match on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
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