RENTON, Wash. – The No. 2 Shippensburg University field hockey team ended its season in a heartbreaking way, falling to No. 1 East Stroudsburg, 1-0 when the Warriors scored with 36 seconds left in the game on Saturday in the NCAA Division II National Championship game.
Shippensburg (16-4) and East Stroudsburg (20-2) were neck and neck the entire game. The game was a combination of defense and midfield play, with a combined seven shots on goal between the two teams.
“We are extremely proud of everything they’ve accomplished this year,” head coach Tara Zollinger said. “They set goals and achieved their goals, and while they may have come up short today, they had an amazing season full of ups and downs.”
Zollinger added: “Most importantly, they grew their belief in themselves and each other, and that is something as a staff we hope they take with them for years to come, that self-belief. I think that is the biggest thing we grew this year and the most important thing we are taking away this season.”
East Stroudsburg’s Nicole Krozser found a pass from Jady van Gils and redirected it to the back of the cage with 36 seconds left in the clock. The Raiders stayed resilient and kept fighting till the clock ran out reaching the ESU attacking circle as time expired.
SU had its best opportunity to score a goal when two ESU players were carded within a 48 second span heading into the fourth quarter. The Raiders best shot during that time came from a reverse shot by sophomore Tess Jedeloo but was saved by ESU goalkeeper, Amy Supey.
Shippensburg had two shots on goal and two penalty corners, while East Stroudsburg had five shots on goal and seven penalty corners. Sophomore goalkeeper Lindsay Tripodo had four saves while Supey had two saves.
“We set goals in the spring that we thought were way beyond us we had lots of doubts and the odds were against us,” sophomore Mya Kemp said of the season. “We lost 13 seniors, but we came back and we were in the same position we were in last year (in the national championship game). Yeah, we came up short today, but the confidence and belief, the strength of the connection between our team grew tremendously.”
“This season, I think we were playing for something a little bit more,” Kemp said. “22 girls, for 22, in the year 2022, I think we played this season bigger than ourselves.”
