RENTON, Wa. – The No. 2 Shippensburg University field hockey team stayed resilient and defeated No. 3 West Chester, 4-2 in a thrilling NCAA Division II Semifinal on Thursday evening at Renton Memorial Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (16-3) sophomore Lindsay Tripodo recorded a huge career-high 22 saves to help the Raiders overcome 26 shots on goal and 13 penalty corners to only allow West Chester (15-5) to score two goals.
 
SU came out strong in the first quarter and scored two quick back-to-back goals. A rebound shot by sophomore Mya Kemp off the original shot by freshman Agus Garibaldi found the back of the cage. This is the second game-winning goal for Kemp against West Chester this season.
 
The second goal came from a missile shot by sophomore Tess Jedeloo from a penalty corner insert pass by freshman Savannah Silvestre. The Raiders outshot the Golden Rams 5-2.
 
The second quarter saw a reverse of the previous quarter, the Golden Rams came out looking to score a goal. West Chester had 14 shots, with 10 shots on goal and five penalty corners, and held Shippensburg to no shots.
 
WCU continued the shooting momentum into the second half with a 14-2 shots advantage. The Golden Rams scored less than three minutes into the third quarter, but 45 seconds later, the Raiders answered back with a goal of their own. Sophomore Yasmin De Meyer centered a pass from a tight right angle near the goal line that was deflected in the cage by a Golden Ram defender. 

West Chester did have an opportunity to get within one goal, when it converted a penalty stroke. However, an official goal review saw a double tap from the penalty stroke taken by Rory Strom that negated the goal. The change in the momentum, and a Shippensburg breakthrough from a West Chester penalty corner, saw a counterattack with a rocket goal from freshman Lilly Cantabene after passing three Golden Ram defenders. Tripodo made six saves in the third quarter while senior Merel Hoekstra had two defensive saves. Hoekstra is now one of eight players to have the most defensive saves in an NCAA Tournament game.
 
In the final quarter, Shippensburg's defense kept its composure and resiliency as West Chester fired 12 shots and scored a goal from PSAC Athlete of the Year, Valerie van Kuijck, and Tripodo made four saves in the quarter, including two saves off the shots of van Kuijck.

Despite West Chester outshooting Shippensburg by a 40-3 margin over the final three quarters, both the Golden Rams and the Raiders scored two goals each in that span, allowing SU's first quarter momentum and Tripodo's goalkeeping to be the difference.
 
"It's an amazing accomplishment by Lindsay today," head coach Tara Zollinger said. "She stood her ground and had [22] saves which is a personal record for her and really led the backfield."
 
"I've never really seen such amazing goalkeeping," West Chester head coach, Amy Cohen said. "Not even at the Division II level but in all my years of coaching. Lindsay was fantastic in goal today."
 
Shippensburg will now face No. 1 East Stroudsburg for the NCAA National Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m. (ET). It is a rematch of the 2018 NCAA National Championship, when Shippensburg won 1-0 in overtime.
 
Notes:
- Tripodo's 22 saves are the second-most saves in a single game in NCAA Division II Tournament history. The previous most by a Raider was Amanda Houser with 18 saves vs IUP in 2008.
- Hoekstra is now one of eight players to have the most defensive saves in an NCAA Tournament game.
- The Raiders two penalty corners are their fewest penalty corners taken since Oct. 2, 2019 in a 2-1 loss against East Stroudsburg.
- Head Coach Tara Zollinger is now tied for third-most victories in an NCAA Tournament (9-0).
- West Chester's 42 shots is the second-most shots in a game in NCAA Division II Tournament history behind Lock Haven, who had 49 shots against IUP in 2000.
- The combined shots by Shippensburg (8) and West Chester (42) is the second-most in an NCAA Tournament history since the 2000 Lock Haven vs. IUP game that had 53 shots.