The Shippensburg University field hockey team will travel to Pittsburgh this week for the NCAA Division II Championships, as the Raiders will face No. 1 overall seed West Chester in a semifinal matchup at 2 p.m. Thursday from Arthur J. Rooney Field on the campus of Duquesne University.
 
Shippensburg (17-4) is the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Region and the No. 4 overall seed in the 2018 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships.
 
West Chester (17-2), the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champions, are the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region and the No. 1 overall seed in the 2018 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships.
 
Thursday marks the third meeting in 2018 between the Raiders and the Golden Rams. West Chester defeated Shippensburg in the PSAC Championship Game (3-1 on Nov. 18) and also won during the regular season at Robb Sports Complex (4-2 on Oct. 9).
 
Overall, West Chester leads the overall series, 9-7. All but one of those meetings have occurred over the last seven seasons. The Golden Rams have won the last three meetings. The two teams have met twice in the NCAA Tournament, with WCU winning both matchups (3-0 in 2011 NCAA Quarterfinals, 3-2 in 2012 NCAA Semifinals).
 
Shippensburg is in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year and the 14th time in school history. SU is 12-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and enters Thursday having won seven consecutive NCAA Tournament matches.
 
The Raiders are making their 10th NCAA Semifinals appearance (2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017), having won the National Championship in each of their last three semifinals appearances.
 
West Chester is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 and the sixth time overall since re-classifying to NCAA Division II in 2011. WCU is 7-3 all-time in the NCAA Division II Tournament and is seeking its third NCAA Division II National Championship (2011, 2012).
 
About the Matchup:
 
Shippensburg sophomore midfielder Jazmin Petrantonio is the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Athlete of the Year and the reigning NFHCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year. She has scored 24 goals this season – the most by a Raider since Kristina Taylor had the same amount in 2009.

In four career NCAA Tournament matches, Petrantonio has scored five goals and recorded two assists for 12 points. Last year, Petrantonio tied records for the most goals (4) and points (9) by a single player in an NCAA Tournament.
 
Petrantonio has recorded three goals and one assist in four career meetings against West Chester – with two of those goals coming on penalty strokes.
 
SU's defense is anchored by its lone senior – captain goalkeeper Ally Mooney – a two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American and a two-time All-PSAC performer. Mooney is 66-16 with a 0.97 career goals-against average (GAA) and a .814 save percentage in her Raider career.  
 
Key back-line players for the Raiders include junior defender Mikayla Cheney and junior midfielder Rosalia Cappadora. Cheney is a two-time All-PSAC performer who earned First Team honors this season. Cappadora notched All-PSAC Second Team honors this season and has recorded a career-high in scoring with three goals and four assists.
 
Freshman forward Jenna Sluymer earned All-PSAC Second Team honors this season and ranks second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and a team-high nine assists.
 
Six Raiders have started all 21 games this season: Mooney, Cappadora, Petrantonio, freshman midfielder Valen Alonso, sophomore midfielder Molly Herigan and sophomore midfielder Sarah Womer.
 
Shippensburg's active roster features one senior and four juniors. West Chester, meanwhile, features seven seniors and six juniors.  
 
Taylor Bracale is the 2018 PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Year and anchors a defense that includes stout performers such as senior captain goalkeeper Marizza Elizardo (2018 All-PSAC First Team), senior Caitie McNamara (2018 All-PSAC First Team) and sophomore back Marre Corver (2018 All-PSAC Second Team).
 
The Golden Ram forwards are potent and powerful. Junior Katie Thompson (2018 All-PSAC First Team) leads the team with 19 goals and eight assists – she has scored three times against SU this season, including two of her eight game-winning goals on the year.
 
Forward Caitlin Hatch (2018 All-PSAC Second Team) has 14 goals and three assists this season for West Chester. Midfielder Caitlin Kelly (2018 All-PSAC Second Team) has compiled three goals and an assist against Shippensburg over the last two seasons, including the game-winning goal in the 2017 PSAC Semifinals.
 
NCAA Championships:
 
In the other NCAA Semifinal taking place on Thursday, East Stroudsburg (No. 2 seed in Atlantic, No. 2 overall seed) will face Pace (No. 1 seed in East, No. 3 overall seed) at 5 p.m.
 
The winner of the Shippensburg-West Chester matchup will face the winner of the East Stroudsburg-Pace matchup at 1 p.m. Saturday in the 2018 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship Game.