The Shippensburg University field hockey team connected on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play with under ten minutes remaining Saturday to defeat No. 8 East Stroudsburg, 2-1 in a cool and rainy Veteran's Appreciation Game from Robb Sports Complex.
 
The goal came just over seven minutes after the Warriors had tied the game at 1-1 when freshman Brooke Sheibley smacked a shot onto the stick of sophomore Katelyn Grazan who stopped it and then fired a pass over to a wide-open senior Tori Ricker before it was promptly deposited into the back of the cage.
 
The Raiders (3-1, 1-1 PSAC) were faced with a flurry of shots early in the second half when East Stroudsburg (2-2, 1-1 PSAC) took five shots and two penalty corners between the 53rd and 55th minute. During that span sophomore Taylor Fisher recorded a defensive save as the Raider defense aided with an array of contested and blocked shots.
 
Junior Molly Stuart collected the Raiders' first goal in the 28th minute while freshman Ally Mooney turned away five shots on the day.
 
The Warriors held a 15-6 advantage in shots, including an 8-1edge in the second half. They also led in penalty corners by a 6-3 margin.

Before the game, the SU field hockey players wore special t-shirts designed to honor veterans. The Shippensburg University ROTC Color Guard presented the colors for the playing of the national anthem.
 
The team also collected donations for non-perishable items to send in care packages to soldiers and collected monetary donations to send to the Wounded Warrior Project.
 
SU takes on Mercyhurst next Saturday at 1 p.m. from Robb Sports Complex.