Shippensburg University’s field hockey team won its first national championship since 2021, defeating Kutztown 3–1 in Friday’s semifinal before taking down Newberry 3–2 in overtime in Sunday’s national championship game.

The result is a culmination of a fantastic season for the Raiders, finishing the year at 20–3 overall. Head coach Rayell Wallace became the third SU coach to win an NCAA Division II championship, doing so in her first season at Shippensburg. It is the fifth title in the last nine seasons for SU.

Friday’s semifinal saw Kutztown take an early lead, with Grace Harrold scoring off a penalty corner in the first quarter. SU would quickly respond, with junior Carme Caracotche Picone finding senior Lilly Cantabene at the top of the circle, who fired a shot into the cage to tie the score.

The Raiders pulled ahead late in the second quarter, when junior McKenna Boyle redirected a strike from sophomore Elaina Frigassi for her eighth goal of the season. Cantabene added on early in the third with her second goal of the game, putting SU up 3–1.

Shippensburg’s defense held Kutztown to just one shot on goal across the second and third quarters. The Golden Bears had opportunities in the fourth quarter, but graduate goalkeeper Emma Albee made three saves in the frame, ending with seven on the day.

Kutztown outshot the Raiders 14–11, with each team having eight shots on goal. The Golden Bears earned 12 penalty corners but could only convert one. Shippensburg lost to Kutztown in the national semifinals each of the last two seasons.

The win led Shippensburg to return to Bloomsburg’s Steph Pettit Stadium for Sunday’s national championship game. The team took on Newberry, which entered as the top seed at 20–0 on the year.

SU started strong, taking a 1–0 lead, as senior Agus Garibaldi shot the ball past the Wolves’ goalie. The Raiders held Newberry, the highest-scoring team in Division II, without a shot or penalty corner in the first quarter.

Shippensburg earned five penalty corners in the second quarter, but they were unable to convert any, leaving the game at 1–0 at the half. SU earned eight penalty corners in the first half compared to just one for Newberry.

The Wolves had a phenomenal third quarter on offense, earning six penalty corners, outshooting Shippensburg 12–1 and scoring a pair of goals. Wibien Dahmen got Newberry on the board with her 17th goal of the year, tying the game at one.

Shippensburg fought back, with Garibaldi scoring once more off a pass from junior Hannah White. It was shot into the top right corner, just sneaking in to make it a 2–1 game. Lieke Varenkamp would score for Newberry with two minutes left in the third to even the score once again.

The game took a defensive turn in the fourth quarter, with the teams combining for just two shots and one penalty corner. It was a chippy game throughout, but it ramped up, with five cards being handed out in the period.

Overtime started with each team down a player due to penalties, leaving the game as six-vs-six. Newberry would get the first two shots off, with Albee making a pair of saves to keep the game tied.

From there, Cantabene stole possession and raced up the field. As Newberry was about to return to full strength, she sent the ball toward the cage. Senior Kelly Naudé was set up perfectly for a deflection, punching it in for the national championship.

Naudé spoke on scoring the game-winner postgame.

“Pretty much every goal we have scored this year has been a team goal. We do it for the team, it’s not for individual play,” said Naudé. “Whether it was me or someone else, I know every single person on this team would have done the exact same thing.”

Newberry outshot SU 16-2 in the second half and overtime, with both of Shippensburg’s shots turning into goals. Albee made seven saves on the day, winning her second national championship, having redshirted on the 2021 team.

Albee spoke on being the only player on the team to win two titles.

“It’s been a unique perspective; we talk about it a lot. I wanted to show the team how it would feel and what it would look like, but now we get to all experience it together,” Albee said.

She also discussed returning to the team for her graduate season.

“I’m so grateful that I chose to take my fifth year. I wasn’t planning on it, but I was asked to, so I gave it another thought. With all that’s happened since then, I couldn't imagine my life not taking it,”Albee said .

Wallace consistently pushed the idea of playing Shippensburg field hockey this season, and she thought they did so in the title game. 

“We played as a unit, we trusted each other, we were coming in waves, defensively we stayed true to ourselves. Playing as a unit is where we shine, not individually,” said Wallace

The result caps off the careers of several fantastic seniors. Albee tied the school record for goalie wins in a season, finishing with a 53-9 career record. Garibaldi’s 55 career goals are tied for seventh in team history, and her 31 assists tie for fifth. The seniors went 70-14 overall, reaching the national semifinals all four years, but ended with a title.

Shippensburg’s sixth NCAA Division II National Championship puts the Raiders second all-time, only trailing Bloomsburg’s 13. It was the third of their six titles to be won in overtime.

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