The Shippensburg University lacrosse team put forth a valiant road effort Wednesday at East Stroudsburg, dropping a 14-12 decision to the home-standing Warriors in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup from Whitenight Field.
 
Shippensburg (6-6, 2-6 PSAC) yielded seven of the match's first nine goals to East Stroudsburg (10-2, 6-1), a squad receiving votes in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, but rallied to get within two goals on multiple occasions within the final 15 minutes of play.
 
East Stroudsburg established a 4-0 lead just nine minutes into play, prompting an SU timeout. The Raiders countered with a pair of goals, but trailed 8-4 at halftime. The Warrior advantage fluctuated between four and five goals for the majority of the second half until a three-goal spurt by the Raiders made it 11-9 with 13:12 left. SU once again got within two goals at the 3:34 mark, but that tally proved to be the last of the contest.
 
Shippensburg got six points (two goals, four assists) from senior Amanda Frank and hat tricks from junior Allison Fugate and senior Max Barkley. The Raiders out-shot the Warriors, 33-28, and posted a 16-11 edge in draw controls, but matched a season high with 29 turnovers.
 
Senior Ali Harclerode, sophomore Kyra Shank, sophomore Madi Newman and freshman Morgan Whiteside all added goals for SU, with junior Jordan Kengor providing two assists.
 
Barkley was a consistent threat, compiling a match-high eight draw controls along with four groundballs and three caused turnovers in addition to her hat trick.
 
Fugate was all over the field as well, collecting a career-high five groundballs and recording three caused turnovers in addition to her hat trick.
 
Along the back lines, all four of SU's starting defenders collected multiple groundballs. Sophomore Valerie Hertz had four draw controls, three groundballs and matched Barkley and Fugate with a team-high three caused turnovers. Senior Annemarie Cericola had three groundballs, while junior Makenzie Magnotta had two groundballs and two caused turnovers.
 
Sophomore Bridgette Morrissey recorded nine saves, her third-highest output of the season. Five of Morrissey's saves came in the second half, a frame in which SU out-scored East Stroudsburg by an 8-6 margin.
 
Frank has now established a new single-season best with 24 assists, a total that ranks sixth in the PSAC. Hertz leads the PSAC in caused turnovers per game (2.83), Barkley ranks second in draw controls per game (5.27) and Cericola is third in groundballs per game (3.75).
 
The two teams united before Wednesday's contest – the second annual Alyssa Oxenford Memorial Game. A ceremony was held in memory of Oxenford, a teammate of SU head coach Nicole Miller at East Stroudsburg, who lost a battle with leukemia.
 
Shippensburg returns home this weekend after a four-game road trip. SU will host Seton Hill at 1 p.m. Saturday in a PSAC match from Robb Sports Complex.