Shippensburg captures first PSAC Field Hockey title since 2005
2021 PSAC Field Hockey Championship Tournament Hub
Box Score
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. --- The No. 1 ranked Shippensburg University Raiders defeated No. 3 seeded West Chester University Golden Rams, 3-1, Sunday to capture their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Field Hockey title since 2005, and second title overall.
With the win, Shippensburg remains undefeated at 18-0 on the season, while West Chester falls to 15-4 on the season.
The Raiders entered the championship final as the highest seed and the top team in DII field hockey while West Chester was ranked third in the conference.
Ship earned a bye in the first round of the tournament and had all that it could handle in the PSAC semifinals battling Millersville to a 2-1 overtime victory. It was 2021 PSAC Athlete of the Year Jazmin Petrantonio who lifted the Raiders to the win with an OT goal.
For the Golden Rams, West Chester knocked off defending PSAC Champion East Stroudsburg in the semifinals, 2-0, behind goals from PSAC Freshman of the Year Valerie van Kuijck and all-conference honoree, Emma Velez.
In the championship final, it was the Golden Rams who struck first. With the first quarter winding down, Olivia Quagliero found the back of the cage to give the 1-0 advantage to West Chester over the Raiders.
However, it was Ship’s second quarter barrage of goals that proved to be the difference. To tie the contest, Merel Hoekstra received a pass from Petrantonio in the circle to knot the score. Less than a minute later, it was Petrantonio on her own beating a few defenders for her 36th goal of the season giving Ship the 2-1 lead. With time winding down in the second quarter, Valu Paul gave Shippensburg a two-goal advantage finding the back of the cage off an assist from Adrienne McGarrigle.
The Raiders and Golden Rams played to an evenly matched final two quarters as Ship’s three-goal second quarter proved to be too much as Ship won the PSAC title match, 3-1.
With the championship win, the Raiders will likely be the top seed in the NCAA DII Field Hockey Tournament beginning Saturday, November 13. The rest of the field will be selected Monday, November 8 at 3 p.m. in the NCAA Selection Show.
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PREVIEW
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Field Hockey Championship Tournament is set to begin Tuesday, November 2. The No. 1 seed in the tournament is Shippensburg and they will host the semifinals and finals of the tournament. Coming in as the No. 2 seed is East Stroudsburg, West Chester is No. 3, Millersville is No. 4, IUP is No. 5 and Kutztown No. 6.
Both Shippensburg (16-0, 10-0) and East Stroudsburg (15-3, 9-1) will have a bye in the first round of the tournament.
West Chester (13-3, 7-2) will host Kutztown (11-6, 5-5) Tuesday at 4 PM for quarterfinal one. In quarterfinal two, Millersville (14-3, 7-3) will host IUP (12-5, 5-5) at 6 p.m.
East Stroudsburg comes into the tournament looking to defend its PSAC title having won back in 2009. The Warriors have a pair of PSAC Titles on their register. West Chester and Millersville are tied with four apiece, while IUP and Shippensburg have one title each.
The top seed, Shippensburg, comes into the tournament having dominated offensively and defensively this season. Not only have they scored the most goals in the league (89), but they have surrendered the least amount of goals this season (9). The Raiders enter the tournament with a +5.00 scoring margin. Jazmin Petrantonio leads the league in goals (34).
ESU has been middle of the road on offense this season but one of the top tier teams on defense in the league allowing just 13 goals this year. ESU’s Hannah Barbush is third in the PSAC in defensive saves (4).
West Chester as the third seed is third in the league in goals scored with 62 total and averages 10.44 total points per game. Valerie van Kuijck is third in the league in goals with 16 of her own.
Behind the Golden Rams are the Marauders in the tournament. They still remain the second-most explosive offense in the league with the second-highest goals scored total with 66. Bri Harsh, is tied for fourth in the PSAC in goals with 13.
IUP comes into the tournament having picked up a big win over Kutztown to punch its ticket in the tournament. A big help in getting IUP into the tournament is goalie Amanda Zaner who has a pair of shutouts including two in her last two starts.
Rounding out the six teams in the tournament its Kutztown. The Golden Bears enter this one having lost their last two league games in heartbreaking fashion. However, Kutztown does a solid job in scoring goals this season and is tied for fourth in the conference in goals with 49.
The PSAC Field Hockey Championship Tournament is set to begin Tuesday at 4 p.m. with WCU and Kutztown playing in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
PSAC Field Hockey Champion Scholar
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. --- East Stroudsburg University senior Hannah Barbush has been named the PSAC Field Hockey Champion Scholar, the league office announced Sunday.
Barbush is the first ESU field hockey athlete to be awarded the Champion Scholar accolade since Sydney McCarthy in 2017-18, and the third ESU field hockey champion scholar ever.
The PSAC Champion Scholar Awards are modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 award and honor the student-athlete with the top grade point average who is competing at the site of each of the PSAC's finals sites. The selection criteria for the Champion Scholar Awards is identical to that of the NCAA Elite 90 awards, which honor the student-athlete with the top GPA at each of the championship finals sites of the 90 NCAA championships across all three divisions – I, II, and III.
The Manheim, Pennsylvania., native and Manheim Central product has accumulated 105 credits towards her special education/early childhood education degree and boasts a flawless 4.0 grade point average.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.