SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The No. 1 Shippensburg University field hockey team scored twice in the final 10 minutes Tuesday, including the game-winner with 39 seconds remaining, to rally and defeat No. 2 Kutztown, 3-2, in a fantastic matchup of top-tier Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) programs at Robb Sports Complex.
 
Shippensburg (12-0, 5-0 PSAC) and Kutztown (10-2, 4-1) battled throughout the midfield for much of the game and limited each other's scoring chances; the two teams finished with just four shots on goal each, and the Golden Bears had a 5-1 advantage in corners. The matchup of the current PSAC front-runners came down to capitalizing when those few key moments arose.
 
Less than one minute in, SU produced a quick strike. Junior Agus Garibaldi dribbled through two defenders and flicked a ball into the scoring circle. Senior Alexa Michielsen arrived at the ball and elevated a shot into the cage for a huge early momentum surge for the Raiders.
 
Undaunted, Kutztown allowed just one shot on goal for the next 48 minutes of play. The Golden Bears scored both of their goals via deflections on penalty corners, with the first coming on an untimed corner at the end of the second quarter. Sarah Gatehouse sent a low feed to the right post; Jessica Traynor was present and skillfully redirected it into the open cage to even the score at 1-1 entering halftime.
 
With 2:50 left in the third quarter, KU took the lead. Despite a stubbed penalty corner insert, Juliana Donato ran up and quickly sent the ball back to the edge of the circle to satisfy the entry. From there, Gatehouse sent a cross-circle pass to Marissa Rice, who then hit a low ball toward the left post. Brinley Rex redirected the ball into the cage for her first career goal, giving the Golden Bears a 2-1 lead.
 
Kutztown's momentum carried into the fourth quarter, as the visitors almost scored a third goal. On a penalty corner just two minutes into the final frame, a shot by Sarah Gatehouse bounced through a maze of bodies and hit the post, but the resulting bounce off the iron was deemed to have hit Erin Gonzalez, disallowing the rebound that she slammed into the goal.
 
The SU offense that had been silent for much of the game began to re-emerge soon after. With just less than 10 minutes remaining, the Raiders got the ball into the scoring circle. Garibaldi chipped a pass into space that was run onto by senior Ashley Button. Presented with a slight bit of space, Button stayed calm and used it to her advantage to take a couple extra dribbles – and ripped a shot into the right side of the cage to tie the match at 2-2.
 
Entering the final minute, SU earned its first and only penalty corner of the match and seized the opportunity. After an initial shot was blocked, hard work by Michielsen brought the ball back into the circle. The ball found the stick of Button, who dribbled into space and fired a shot toward the cage.
 
Garibaldi, standing in front of KU keeper Mia Kepler, repositioned herself to deftly deflect the ball into the air to herself. She then proceeded to hit the ball out of the air and into the cage for a highlight-reel game-winner.   
 
It was the team-leading 13th goal for Garibaldi and her fourth game-winner this season.
 
Button, an unsung hero in the SU midfield, had totaled just one career goal and two career assists through her first three seasons (55 career games). Tuesday marked the first time in her career she had both a goal and an assist in the same game; she equaled her season scoring output (one goal, one assist) with her performance.
 
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Emma Albee finished with two saves for the Raiders, while Kepler had one save for the Golden Bears. Of the eight combined shots on goal in Tuesday's match, five went in the cage.
 
Kutztown became the first opponent to score twice in a game against the Raiders; SU had allowed just four total goals through its first 11 contests.
 
It was the second matchup of the season between the two teams; SU won 2-0 at Kutztown in a non-conference match on Sept. 18 at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
The Raiders extended their home winning streak to 18 consecutive games. Kutztown was the last team to defeat SU at home (4-1 on Oct. 11, 2022). This decade, SU is 33-1 in home games at Robb Sports Complex.
 
Shippensburg is back in action at 2 p.m. Saturday at Slippery Rock.

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