The No. 1-ranked Shippensburg University field hockey team went on the road Tuesday and defeated league rival and No. 5-ranked West Chester, 3-2, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup on a sunny afternoon from Vonnie Gros Field.
 
Shippensburg (9-1, 4-0 PSAC), newly minted as the No. 1-ranked team in the country after the latest edition of the National Field Hockey Coaches Assocation (NFHCA) Division II rankings were announced Tuesday morning, built leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in the contest while once again receiving strong goaltending from redshirt-junior Ally Mooney to come away with its seventh consecutive victory.
 
West Chester (6-4, 1-3) posted a 13-6 advantage in shots on goal, as Mooney finished with 10 saves in the contest. It is her second double-digit saves performance this season and just the third time in her career that she has finished a game with 10 or more saves. Sophomore defender Mikayla Cheney was credited with a defensive save on a first-half corner attempt.
 
Senior Madison Scarr opened the scoring with 10:26 to play in the first half, notching her first goal of the season by redirecting home an entry by senior Brooke Sheibley at the far post. SU would carry its 1-0 lead into halftime.
 
Just 2:08 into the second half, Sheibley scored her fifth goal of the season off an assist from freshman Jazmin Petrantonio. Both Scarr's and Sheibley's goals came off penalty corners.
 
Rachal Toppi scored her ninth of the season for West Chester with 22:28 remaining, but Petrantonio answered with 11:04 remaining by converting a penalty stroke for her fourth goal of the season, making it 3-1 in favor of Shippensburg.
 
WCU got a goal from Caitlin Kelly with 6:47 remaining to once again get within a goal. The Raiders called a timeout with 3:29 to play and did yield a shot on goal to Toppi just 30 seconds after the stoppage, but went unblemished the rest of the way. SU worked a penalty corner in the final 30 seconds to clinch the victory.
 
Shippensburg will play its fourth nationally-ranked opponent in its last four matches at noon Saturday at Slippery Rock. The Rock and West Chester are tied at No. 5 in the national coaches' poll.