SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Lilly Cantabene scored her first goal of the season just 14 seconds in the fourth quarter to propel the No. 2 Shippensburg University field hockey team to a 3-2 victory over No. 4 West Chester in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup on a hot and sunny Wednesday at Robb Sports Complex.
 
Shippensburg (9-2, 3-0 PSAC) and West Chester (7-3, 3-1) went back and forth in the latest meeting of two bitter rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and the match being tied twice. Shots on goal were 10-9 in SU's favor, and corners were 10-8 to WCU's advantage.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the first quarter, SU evened the score midway through the opening frame when Cantabene sent a crossing pass to junior Tess Jedeloo, who settled the pass and tapped the ball into the open cage for her ninth goal of the season.
 
Less than 90 seconds into the second quarter, junior Yasmin De Meyer took advantage of some rare open space – dribbling into the circle and slamming home her ninth goal of the season to give SU a 2-1 lead that lasted into halftime.
 
Jasmine Miller added two more goals to her ledger, bringing her NCAA Division II-leading total to 15 on the season through 10 games. Miller opened the scoring less than six minute in by finishing a pass in the scoring circle and evened the score midway through the third quarter by diving at the goal line to finish a carom off an initial shot from Paige Wolfe.
 
SU's quick start to the fourth quarter ultimately proved to be the difference. De Meyer started the fourth quarter by sending a long ball deep down to the Golden Ram back line. The ball glanced off a defender's stick, and shortly after, De Meyer had already hustled down the field and applied pressure. She took possession and sent the ball into the circle to Cantabene, whose initial shot was stopped by Alina Burger, but Cantabene then fired home her own rebound for the game-winning goal.
 
Redshirt-sophomore Emma Albee matched her career high for the third time with seven saves, proving stout in goal. She also made seven saves previously this season against West Chester and Saint Anselm. The Golden Rams evenly split their goaltending, with Emerie Loftus making three saves in the first half and Alina Burger notching four saves in the second half.
 
Shippensburg will host No. 7 Mansfield at 1 p.m. Saturday at Robb Sports Complex. SU will be celebrating its Alumni Weekend and also hosting a 10-year anniversary of the team's 2013 NCAA Division II National Championship – the team's first NCAA title (second overall including 1979 AIAW title).