The Shippensburg University field hockey team got a golden goal from junior Tess Jedeloo at the 7:12 mark of overtime Friday to propel the Raiders to a 1-0 victory over No. 3 Kutztown in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships Semifinal at East Stroudsburg's Whitenight Field.
 
Shippensburg (15-3) and Kutztown (16-3) combined for just five shots on goal in a maudlin first half before ratcheting up the pressure after the halftime intermission. In the second half and overtime, the Golden Bears fired 12 shots on goal to SU's seven and totaled 10 penalty corners.
 
The Raiders exceled on defensive penalty corners Friday, with redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Emma Albee and sophomore back Plinke Hillen leading the charge. Fellow backs Hannah White and Savannah Silvestre also were integral along the back lines to keep the Golden Bears off the scoreboard and contributed to a number of blocked shots.
 
Albee finished with a career-high 12 saves – four more than her previous high of eight in a shutout at IUP in the regular season. She made three saves off KU penalty corners in the second half and another in overtime.  
 
The difference in the game was Jedeloo's game-winning strike. Junior Ashley Button fed her the ball in the circle, and Jedeloo undertook significant back-and-forth dribbling in an effort to create space for a shot. She eventually unleashed a reverse hit that made its way through traffic and went past a screened Mia Kepler to set off a spirited celebration and dogpile on the field.
 
It was Jedeloo's second game-winning goal of the season. Her first came in the previous meeting against the Golden Bears. On Oct. 10 at Kutztown, in what was also a matchup of the No. 2 and No. 3 nationally-ranked teams, the Raiders achieved a 3-2 victory on the strength of a third-quarter goal by Jedeloo.
 
SU advances to Sunday's PSAC Championship match against host East Stroudsburg; it will be the first time that the two teams will face each other in the PSAC title game. The Warriors defeated Mansfield in Friday's first semifinal, 3-2 in overtime.
 
KU now awaits the announcement of the NCAA Selection Show on Monday; the Golden Bears will have to see if they can leapfrog Mount Olive, the current No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Region. The Trojans suffered their second loss of the season Friday with a 1-0 home loss to Lander in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Semifinals.
 
Overtime Notes:

• It was the fourth time in the last eight games with Kutztown that the two teams have gone to overtime.
• It was Shippensburg's second overtime match of the season, with the first being a 2-1 loss in double overtime at No. 7 Saint Anselm.
• It was the second time in the last three seasons that Shippensburg went to overtime in the PSAC Semifinals, having beat Millersville in 2021, 2-1.

 
PSAC Tournament History

• Shippensburg is now 20-29 overall in the PSAC Tournament.
• Shippensburg is now 14-16 overall in PSAC Semifinal matches.
• Shippensburg is making its 14th appearance in the PSAC Championship Game.
• Shippensburg has won two PSAC Championships (2005, 2021).

 

FIELD HOCKEY GOAL!!!!! Tess Jedeloo works her magic in the circle to score the game's only goal with 2:40 left in the first overtime period. SU advances to the PSAC Championship Game to face ESU on Sunday! pic.twitter.com/92b0pSsmwg

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) November 3, 2023