The Shippensburg University field hockey team moved to 14-2 overall after winning two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matches this past week, allowing team members to celebrate Senior Day with a victory.

On Wednesday, the Raiders traveled to Slippery Rock, where graduate goalkeeper Emma Albee recorded her 10th shutout of the season, and SU won 3-0. On Saturday, the Raiders scored another three goals to triumph over Mansfield, 3-1. 

Against Slippery Rock, SU  dominated on the field with 20 shots and 15 on goal. SU held off Slippery Rock on the backside of the field, limiting it to only two shots, none of which were on goal. 

The Raiders’ first goal of the match came with two and a half minutes left in the first quarter. Sophomore Gabby Wameling ran the ball up the left-field side for a solid 40 yards, then she sent the ball to the circle and sophomore Annika Madeja tipped it into the cage. 

In earning the assist, Wameling scored her first career point. 

The first goal led the Raiders to add quickly to the scoreboard in the second quarter. This time, the ball made its way up the field on the right side as sophomore Elaina Fragassi carried it into the circle. Once in the circle, Fragassi completed a spin to move the ball past the goalie’s pads less than two minutes into the period. 

The Raiders sealed their win with a third goal in the last two minutes of the game. It was Fragassi’s second goal of the day with an assist from junior Carme Caracotche Picone. 

On Saturday, SU took on the Mountaineers for the last home game of the season and honored the team’s senior class. 

Graduate students Emma Albee and Savannah Silvestre were honored before the game along with seniors Lilly Cantabene, Agus Garibaldi and Kelly Naudé. 

This year’s senior class has proven its strengths in dealing with the coaching transition at the start of the season. 

“I think we’re really proud of how we adapted and evolved from that,” Naudé said. “Instead of taking it as like a negative thing, we’ve really risen from this and taken it full force.”

Head coach Rayell Wallace is also proud of how “dedicated, willing and open” the seniors were during the change. 

At the start of the game against Mansfield, the two teams went back and forth between possessions and were rather evenly matched. 

The game remained scoreless until 10 minutes into the second quarter, when Caracotche Picone rebounded the ball off the goalie’s pads during an offensive corner. 

Before halftime, the Raiders had a new sense of momentum that kept them ahead in the score of 1-0 and had them ahead in shots. In the second quarter, SU had six shots while also limiting the scoring opportunities for the Mountaineers to zero. 

In the second half, Mansfield sent a goal to the cage to tie it up 1-1, but the point from the Mountaineers did not set the Raiders back. 

Mansfield’s goal served as a reminder for Shippensburg to keep pushing and stay focused. 

“I feel like sometimes you need to be reminded that you should still believe in yourself,” Wallace said. “We are still Ship field hockey and we still play Ship field hockey.”

Shippensburg answered almost immediately. SU scored its second goal similarly to its first. It was the result of an offensive corner when Garibaldi received the insert and hit the ball to Caracotche Picone, who scored once more. 

The sense of urgency continued again in the final quarter with a goal that further protected the Raider’s lead. The addition to the score came during a corner as junior Hannah White lifted the ball toward the goal and Naudé guided it in with a tip of her stick. 

SU’s current record in the PSAC is 6-2. The team has clinched its spot in postseason play along with East Stroudsburg, West Chester and No. 1 Kutztown. 

Wallace said that her goals in the postseason are to “keep playing as a unit on defense and attack.”

The next game for Shippensburg has the Raiders facing their most challenging opponent yet — Kutztown. 

Albee said, “[We’re] refining the little things and making sure that we’re not skipping over any details before that game, because we know that it’s going to be a tough one because both teams always rise for this game.”

The Raiders are on the road again Saturday to face the Golden Bears for their last regular season game. 

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