Shippensburg University’s No. 2 nationally ranked field hockey team moved to 7-0 on the year after posting a pair of home shutouts and a road win over No. 6 Mansfield.
The Raiders took down Frostburg State 5-0 on Wednesday, defeated Slippery Rock 4-0 on Friday, before holding on for a 2-1 win on Sunday against the Mountaineers.
SU did not waste time in Wednesday’s game, as senior Kelly Naudé scored five minutes and 35 seconds into the match. She then assisted on the second goal of the game, with sophomore Elaina Fragassi scoring her first goal of the year.
Senior Agus Garibaldi was the next to score for Shippensburg, scoring a goal off a Naudé assist. With this goal, Garibaldi became the ninth player in school history to score 50 career goals.
Shippensburg tacked on two second-half goals, with senior Lilly Cantabene scoring in the third quarter. Junior Hannah White earned the game’s final goal with five minutes and 33 seconds remaining.
Frostburg State was held to one shot all game, with the Raider offense racking up 39 shots, 27 on goal. They also earned 10 corners, allowing just three.
Friday’s game against The Rock featured a scoreless first quarter. That changed in the second, with Fragassi scoring off a Cantabene assist to make it 1-0 at halftime.
Naudé was next to strike for the SU offense, scoring her third goal of the season. Sophomore Annika Medeja then picked up the first goal of her college career, scoring via a Cantabene assist, making the score 3-0 after three quarters.
Junior McKenna Boyle scored in the final five minutes to cap off a 4-0 Raider victory. SU outshot The Rock 35-6, with 18 shots on goal. SU racked up 17 corners, only allowing one shot on goal. Graduate goalkeeper Emma Albee stopped the shot to earn her fourth consecutive shutout.
The week ended with a defensive battle in Mansfield, as each team only mustered six shots on goal. The Mountaineers scored midway through the second quarter to take the lead. It was the first goal allowed by SU in 285 minutes of gameplay.
SU responded quickly though, as Boyle scored just two minutes later off another Cantabene assist to even the score.
Cantabene herself scored with 33 seconds left in the first half, rocketing in a pass from freshman Madison Fissel to put SU ahead.
Mountaineers gave it all they had in the second half, with nine corners and a penalty stroke, but could not score on any. Albee made five saves in the half, with a crucial one on the corner before the other four in the final seven minutes.
Albee earned her 200th career save in the fourth quarter, ending the game at 201 career saves.
She is one of 11 Raiders to reach 200 career saves and should enter the Top 10 in school history by the season’s end.
After back-to-back three-game weeks, SU field hockey only has one game on the schedule for this week.
The Raiders will face IUP Saturday at noon at Robb Sports Complex to open conference play.
The team will celebrate Alumni Day and hold the Strous Fly High 22 5K pregame.
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