PITTSBURGH – The Shippensburg University field hockey team won its third consecutive NCAA Division II Championship and its fourth in the last six years on Sunday with a 1-0 overtime victory over No. 2 seed East Stroudsburg at Arthur J. Rooney Field on the campus of Duquesne University.
 
Shippensburg (19-4) was locked in a defensive stalemate with East Stroudsburg (16-5) for seventy minutes of regulation. Working through a steady rain, the two teams battled back and forth – combining for just seven total shots and four shots on goal.  
 
The Raiders' best scoring chance in regulation came in its final minutes. The Raiders earned a penalty corner with less three minutes remaining, allowing freshman Adrienne McGarrigle to land the team's first shot on goal. The shot was saved by East Stroudsburg defender Brianna Sassaman.
 
On the same penalty corner, sophomore Jazmin Petrantonio had a shot blocked by a Warrior, giving Shippensburg another corner. Petrantonio then fired another shot that went wide of the cage.
 
Just less than one minute into overtime, freshman Valen Alonso sent an outlet pass to McGarrigle, who was able to work her way through the Warrior defense and fire a shot toward the goal. Waiting near the cage was sophomore Emily Stauffer, who tipped the ball into the top right of the goal, propelling the Raiders to victory.
 
"It was like slow-motion," Stauffer said. "Adrienne got an amazing shot off with two defenders on her, and I was just there with my stick ready to go. I reverse-sticked it over the goalie, and I watched it go in. The emotion after, I was just so happy."
 
Stauffer, who played in just two games last year as a freshman, netted her 10th goal of the season with her overtime game-winner. She was one of eight underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) starters who took the field Saturday for the Raiders in the championship game.
 
"We faced a lot of adversity off the field that made our group come together even stronger," Zollinger said. "We had this goal in mind and had to keep pushing forward and continue to believe in ourselves and what we could accomplish."

Shippensburg's lone senior, goalkeeper Ally Mooney, finished a stellar career making two saves early in the first half. With her effort, she earned her seventh solo shutout of the season, and the 24th of her career. In three NCAA Tournament games this season, Mooney and the SU defense yielded just one goal.

Mooney has been the cornerstone of the Raiders during her tenure – most especially in her final season. She has been a steadying influence to the team's young players both on and off the field, exemplifying day in and day out the tenets of Raider Field Hockey.

"She instilled the standards and the belief she had in them first, so they could then buy into what we were all about to help us get where we are today," Zollinger said. "Our practices are tougher than some of our competitions because of our competitiveness, and that started from Mooney."

The Raider captain concludes her tenure with a career record of 68-16 and three national championships. Mooney, a two-time NFHCA All-American (2016 First Team, 2014 Second Team) and two-time All-PSAC selection (2016 First Team, 2014 Second Team), compiled a career goals-against average (GAA) of 0.94 and a .816 save percentage.

"I can't even speak words to all that Shippensburg University has given me, on and off the field," Mooney said. "It's a blessing to be here for four and a half years, and I am just so happy with our result today. I knew our team could do it, and I knew the other 26 players on the field wanted it. We wanted it, and today we showed it."

To Mooney, those 26 other players are not just teammates, they are family.

"We've always said from the beginning (of my career), we said we're a family," she added. "With Tara coming in, she believed in that just as much. That's what we strive to be, on and off the field. We care about each other so genuinely, and I think that is what allows us to get it done on the field."

Shippensburg won its ninth consecutive NCAA Division II Field Hockey Tournament game with Saturday's championship. The Raiders are 14-10 all-time in the national tournament. SU is the first team to win three consecutive NCAA Division II titles since Bloomsburg won four-in-a-row from 2006-09.

Zollinger has now guided the Raiders to a 6-0 record in the NCAA Tournament in her two seasons as head coach. SU's final two victories en route to the national championship came against West Chester and East Stroudsburg – the only teams to defeat the Raiders this season.

"The whole team did this all year long and that's why we are here," Zollinger said. "Every single day, every single practice, every single game, we have to believe in ourselves and we have to believe in the magic we can create together. And today, our 27 athletes created magic."
 
Notes:
 
* Saturday was the fourth meeting of the season between Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg. The Warriors won both regular-season matchups by shutout (4-0 on Sept. 19, 3-0 on Oct. 3) – marking the only times that SU was held scoreless this season. The Raiders won the third meeting of the season with a 3-0 shutout in the PSAC Semifinals.
 
* Saturday marked the first time since 1998 that two PSAC teams met in the NCAA Division II Championship game.
 
* Overall, Shippensburg has won four NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) and the 1979 AIAW Division III Field Hockey Championship.
 
* Zollinger is a native of Jeannette – a town approximately 40 minutes outside Pittsburgh. Among those in attendance at Saturday's championship game included her first field hockey coach, along with numerous friends and family members.
 
* Petrantonio finishes her season with 28 goals – tied for the second-most in a single season in school history. She now holds the NCAA Tournament record for career goals with nine, a feat achieved in just six games.
 
* Since the start of the 2013 season, Shippensburg has posted a 104-22 record with four national championships.