Field Hockey | 11/1/2017 1:05:00 AM

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The No. 1-ranked Shippensburg University field hockey team hosts the 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships this weekend, beginning with a 1 p.m. semifinal Friday versus No. 7-ranked West Chester.
 
The winner of the semifinal matches will play at 1 p.m. Sunday for the league title. Friday's other semifinal will take place at 3:30 p.m. and feature No. 2 East Stroudsburg (the No. 3 seed) and No. 4 Millersville (the No. 2 seed).
 
Ticket prices have been set at $10 for adults and $5 for students for all rounds of the tournament. Any students of PSAC schools receive free admission with their student ID card. The PSAC Championships home page is linked above and includes a GPS for Robb Sports Complex.
 
Shippensburg (14-3) has finished among the Top 3 in the PSAC regular season standings for the 17th consecutive season. SU is looking to reverse its fortune in conference tournament matches – as the Raiders are 15-25 all-time in the PSAC Championships dating back to 1979. Shippensburg's lone PSAC title came in 2005.
 
For the second consecutive year, the Raiders and Golden Rams are meeting in a PSAC Semifinal. Last year, Shippensburg defeated West Chester, 2-1, at East Stroudsburg. It was the first time the two teams had met the in PSAC Championships despite a rich recent history of NCAA Tournament matchups.
 
Earlier this season, Shippensburg traveled to West Chester and notched a 3-2 victory over the Golden Rams. WCU had a 13-6 edge in shots on goal, but the Raiders converted half of their scoring opportunities to earn the win. Both teams scored twice in the second half.
 
This year's semifinal matchup has all the makings of an offensive showdown. Shippensburg (3.76 goals/game) and West Chester (3.61 goals/game) are the PSAC's top scoring teams. SU (13.12) leads the country in penalty corners per game, while West Chester (10.83) ranks third. Meanwhile, the PSAC's top three goal scorers will all be on the field, in the form of SU senior Emily Barnard (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) (18), WCU junior Kaitlin Hatch (17) and WCU senior Rachal Toppi (15).
 
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Ally Mooney made seven saves in last year's PSAC Semifinal victory over West Chester, and she also made 10 saves in this year's victory over the Golden Rams.