Shippensburg University men’s soccer team opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play this week with two tough games — a 3-1 away defeat at Shepherd on Wednesday and a last-minute home loss to Millersville on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Raiders faced the Rams in an intense back-and-forth contest.
The Rams opened the scoring at the 24th minute when Josh Petty scored off an assist from Sterling Harris. Shippensburg responded quickly, finding the equalizer in the 31st minute as sophomore forward Kyle Ganley tallied an unassisted goal to level the score 1-1.
The game remained tied until the 67th minute when Petty scored again, putting Shepherd ahead 2-1. Less than two minutes later, he completed his hat trick with an unassisted shot to extend the Rams’ lead and seal the match 3-1.
SU battled but could not come back from two goals in less than two minutes.
The Raiders finished with three shots on goal, with one shot each from senior forward Ethan Paulukow, sophomore forward Ganley and sophomore midfielder Conway Brown II, compared to Shepherd’s six shots on goal.
The Rams also generated more corner opportunities, holding a 10-6 edge. SU junior goalkeeper Ryan Krumenacker made three saves in the match.
On Saturday, the team hosted Millersville. The game was largely played in the midfield, with neither team generating many clear scoring opportunities. Both defenses held strong, limiting shots and keeping the game open to any of the teams.
The Raiders’ best chances of the first half came early. In the ninth minute, redshirt sophomore midfielder Maddox Davies had a low, fast mid-range shot on the left post, but Millersville's goalkeeper made the save.
Another promising moment arrived in the 38th minute, as SU’s attack developed down the sideline and set up freshman defender Pat McNamara for a clean look that went just over the crossbar.
In the second half, the Marauders came out applying high pressure, challenging the Raiders’ defense throughout.
With 10 minutes remaining, Millersville’s front line broke through to take the lead. Forward Kayden Sowell set up Zander Leik, who finished with a quick one-touch strike to make it 1-0.
Shippensburg finished the match with eight shots, including two on goal, while Millersville recorded 15, nine of them on target. Krumenacker made eight saves to keep SU competitive. SU recorded five corner kicks to Millersville’s six. Fouls were very similar, too, with the Raiders committing 10 compared to 12 for the Marauders.
The Raiders will return to action on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at David See Field to face Bloomsburg, and on Saturday, they will travel to East Stroudsburg for a 1 p.m. away game.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.