VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Despite heavy darkness forcing a field change late in regulation while clutching to a one-goal lead, the Shippensburg University field hockey team advanced past Millersville 3-1 in Friday afternoon's NCAA Division II Semifinals from the USA Field Hockey Training Center at the Virginia Beach SportsPlex to earn a berth in Sunday's NCAA Championship Game against LIU Post.

The South-Region champion Raiders (19-1) will face off against the undefeated North-Region champion Pioneers (21-0) at 1:15 p.m. Sunday from the L.R. Hill Complex on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. (Directions to the facility can be found here.)

The Raiders will be playing in their second-ever NCAA Championship Game and first since 2010. A win would give the program its second national title in school history (an AIAW title in 1979) and give the school its first NCAA team championship in any sport.

"We'll celebrate a little bit tonight, we'll have a team meeting tonight and tomorrow hit the practice field and be ready on Sunday to play," head coach Bertie Landes said. "It means so much because so many of our teams have been so close and this team is special. The chemistry on this team and the bond and the passion, and they want it badly."

Shippensburg dominated possession throughout Friday's semifinal, finishing with significant advantages in shots (8-3) and penalty corners (12-4).

Unlike in its loss to the Marauders (19-3) in the PSAC Championship Game nearly two weeks ago, SU managed to find the back of the cage on Friday to the tune of three goals – the most the Marauders and All-PSAC First Team goalkeeper Lauren Sotzin (Division II-best 0.44 goals-against average entering Friday) have given up all season.

SU tilted the field in its favor right from the start but failed to convert on quality chances off of several corners in the first 10 minutes. Senior Lauren Taylor finally got SU on the board, however, when she deflected in a shot nearly 16 minutes in for her team-leading 16th goal of the season.

Millersville tied it up and swung the momentum in its favor with a goal less than four minutes into the second half, but the Raiders got back on top midway through the period with a goal from junior Ari Saytar off a penalty corner. Senior Taylor Bender sent in the insert to junior Lucy Kauffman, who found Saytar for the eventual game-winner. Both Bender and Kauffman were credited with assists.

"It was all about keeping composure, that was our main focus," Taylor said. "We kinda lost some composure when we got scored on, but it was all about getting back to the basics and then I knew once we got our passing game going again it was gonna go smooth and we were gonna finish."

With SU clinging to its 2-1 lead as the sun settled early in the evening, Millersville called a timeout with 10:32 left in regulation. The officials ruled the darkness was too severe and opted to switch the game to an adjacent field with lights for the remainder of the contest. Play eventually resumed after a roughly 10-minute delay.

With just over seven minutes remaining, White iced the game on the new field when she maneuvered right through the Marauder defense and fired a shot past Sotzin for a commanding 3-1 lead and perhaps the biggest of her 66 career goals.

"I don't even remember what I did, I couldn't tell you what I did," White said. "But I couldn't have done it without my teammates. I don't know who gave me that pass but it was great. I just kept going, I beat one of them, I just kept taking it and I saw the corner of the cage and I just shot it."

The victory snaps SU's three-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament that began with its 1-0 loss in the 2010 NCAA Championship Game to UMass-Lowell when Taylor and White were freshmen.

"It means so much because it goes back to everyone who's played for Ship hockey under coach Landes," White said. "We're playing for everybody, all the alumni who came through and have gotten so far but haven't been able to get the championship."

Added Taylor: "You never know when it's gonna be your last game and our last game is now the national championship, and I think that takes it to a whole other level. Like Bre said, it's all about playing for people who have played in the past. If we go out on a good note and we play our best game, I'm gonna feel good about my career."

NOTES: Asked what makes this team so special, Landes said: "It starts with the nine seniors, works down to the juniors, to the sophomores, to the freshmen. We don't have a hierarchy, it's all about team. They have each other's back. They don't care who scores, they don't care who passes the ball – just so we get the job done."…Before Friday, the last three games between Shippensburg and Millersville were 1-0 decisions…SU lost 1-0 in the national title game in 2010 to UMass-Lowell…the 1979 AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) title is the only national team title for any sport in school history…Entering Friday, Millersville had given up zero goals in three postseason games this season (two PSAC Tournament games, one NCAA Tournament game)…LIU Post was a member of the PSAC from 2008-2012 before moving to the Northeast-10 prior to this season…The Raiders last played the Pioneers on Sept. 14, 2012, when they took a 3-2 road victory in Brookville, N.Y….SU has not lost to the Pioneers in the last decade, winning nine straight since the two teams began playing every year in 2005.