INDIANA, Pa. – It took two overtime periods and more than 90 minutes of play, but the Shippensburg field hockey team avenged two regular season losses to the Crimson Hawks of IUP with a goal from freshman Kristina Taylor in the 91st minute to give the Lady Raiders their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night at Miller Stadium.    

Shippensburg (18-3) got the goal from Taylor with 9:13 remaining in double overtime. The PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Year deftly deflected a long through ball from Carolyn Swift over the top of drawn-out IUP goalkeeper Lydia Dolly to send the Lady Raider bench into jubilation.           

Defensively, junior Amanda Houser made 18 saves for the Lady Raiders. All of the Lady Raiders delivered outstanding performances, with particularly excellent midfield play from senior Carolyn Swift and great work along the back line from senior Jenna Blain.  

After a scoreless first half, junior Jamie Doughty opened the scoring by ripping a loose ball into the net off a great centering pass from senior Natalie Faith that gave the Lady Raiders a 1-0 lead. Shippensburg had almost taken the lead just three minutes earlier, when senior Kim Davies fired a shot but was denied a chance in front of the cage.

Yet with 7:45 remaining, Irma Bakker deftly deflected a shot from outside the circle off the stick of Lieke de Ridder to tie the score at 1-1 off a penalty corner. The first half featured a couple of penalty corners for each team, but stellar defense prevailed and the contest was scoreless at halftime.    

Shippensburg advances to take on the No. 1-ranked Bloomsburg Huskies at 3 p.m. on Friday from Sports Stadium. The Division II Field Hockey Championship home page, with ticket information and a full schedule, is available here.