The No. 4-ranked Shippensburg University field hockey team engaged in its latest spirited battle with West Chester on Saturday afternoon and the Raiders rallied to claim victory over the No. 1-ranked Golden Rams, posting a 4-3 victory on a beautiful afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field.
 
Shippensburg (2-0) got two goals each from seniors Adrienne McGarrigle and Jenna Sluymer and 10 saves from freshman goalkeeper Lindsay Tripodo, who made her first collegiate start.
 
The Raiders trailed 2-0 with four minutes left in the first half before scoring twice in a 53-second span of the second quarter to even the score. McGarrigle dove to deflect home a shot from outside the arc by graduate Sarah Womer with 3:30 left in the quarter, and soon after, Sluymer slammed home a turnaround shot off a feed from senior Jazmin Petrantonio.
 
SU's momentum continued into the start of the third quarter. Less than three minutes into the second half, McGarrigle scored her second of the day by finishing a feed from Sluymer on a 2-on-1 in the arc.
 
Three minutes after McGarrigle's go-ahead goal, the Golden Rams evened the score with a Dara Spavlik goal off a corner. West Chester had a 13-6 advantage in penalty corners and scored two of its three goals off corners.
 
The game-winning goal also came off a penalty corner, as Sluymer's second of the day came after an entry by graduate Caitlyn Wink. The entry rolled through the SU stick stoppers but Sluymer grabbed the ball, dribbled around a defender and fired a shot into the lower right corner of the goal.
 
Tripodo's goaltending kept the Raiders ahead in a scoreless fourth quarter, as she made five of her 10 saves in the final 15 minutes of play.
 
Saturday's game was a non-conference matchup as the teams have yet to begin the mandated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schedule. The two teams will meet again October 5 at Shippensburg's Robb Sports Complex.
 
Shippensburg will play two neutral-site matches next week, beginning with a 3 p.m. Wednesday matchup against Belmont Abbey at James Madison University.