Field Hockey falls in NCAA semifinals to end season

The Shippensburg University field hockey team lost to the Kutztown Golden Bears on Friday, falling by a 4-3 score in an NCAA tournament semifinal match to end its season. The Raiders never led in the contest and allowed the most goals in a game this season.

Kutztown got off to a frantic start, scoring on a pair of penalty corners in the first quarter and leading 2-0 at the end of the period. The Raiders quickly responded, with senior Ashley Button scoring her third goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Hannah White.

Kutztown added another goal to take a 3-1 lead before junior Lilly Cantabene scored on a penalty corner, assisted by junior Savannah Silvestre. It was Cantabene’s third goal of the season to make it a one-score game. KU answered once more in the frame, making it 4-2 at halftime.

Both teams shined on defense in the third quarter, with just three shots combined in the frame. Kutztown also had a penalty corner but could not convert. The score remained 4-2 entering the fourth.

SU senior Nya Gilchrist scored early in the fourth quarter to make it 4-3. Junior Agus Garibaldi provided the assist, with Gilchrist scoring her eighth goal of the season.

SU had plenty of chances down the stretch, as they racked up nine penalty corners in the final 10 minutes of the game. Kutztown’s defense was fantastic though, only allowing one shot on goal in that stretch.

Kutztown’s Megan Doyle picked up a green card with 3:45 left, giving the Raiders a player advantage. That was quickly nullified, as Cantabene picked up a yellow card, leaving SU at 10 players for the remainder of the game.

SU pulled redshirt junior Emma Albee from goal with 1:34 remaining, evening the amount of players on offense. They earned one last penalty corner with eight seconds remaining but were unable to get a shot off, ending the game with a 4-3 Kutztown victory.

Shippensburg outshot Kutztown 17-15, but only had eight shots on goal compared to 12 for the Golden Bears. Albee made eight saves. SU had 16 penalty corners, but could not convert any down the stretch.

The result means SU finishes the season at 19-2 overall. While they won the PSAC championship for the first time since 2021, it is still a matter of “what could have been.”