SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's soccer team used an offensive explosion in the second half Saturday afternoon against Mansfield, scoring five times in its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division match to win 5-0 on a sunny Senior Day at David See Field.
 
Shippensburg (5-7-2, 5-5-2 PSAC East) lived in the offensive third on Saturday and had ample opportunities to score but was locked in a scoreless tie with Mansfield (0-12-3, 0-12-1) at the conclusion of the first half.
 
The first goal of the game came in the 51st minute, starting with a corner kick taken by senior Suzy Dietrich. After shots on goal at close range by sophomore Gabrielle Walker and junior Maegan Quinn were saved by Mansfield goalkeeper Alyssa Shuman, the ball landed at the foot of junior Ryleigh Cook, who kicked the ball into the bottom center of the net for the easy goal.
 
That opened the floodgates. Shippensburg's second goal came seven minutes later, after a shot by freshman Lannah Werynski was saved by Shuman, a second attempt by Cook was also saved but landed in the perfect spot for Quinn to send the ball into the top left corner of the net for a 2-0 lead.
 
In the 66th minute, a corner kick by Dietrich found its way to sophomore Mia Kemp, who was standing at the far post. Kemp headed the ball into the ground and it ricocheted up into the top corner of the net to extend the Raider lead to three.
 
SU's final two goals of the afternoon came in a span of 90 seconds. After a Mansfield foul was committed on freshman Ashton Gonzalez inside the box, she was awarded a penalty kick in the 79th minute. Gonzalez faced Mansfield's second goalkeeper, Serenity Esterline, and sent the ball into the bottom left corner outside of Esterline's reach to move the Raider lead to four.
 
The final goal of the match came in the 81st minute and was set up by Walker. Being trailed by two defenders, Walker passed the ball to freshman Hannah Menicheschi, who used a combination of power and accuracy to sail the ball past multiple Mountaineer defenders and over Esterline into the top center of the net to finalize the score of 5-0.
 
For Kemp, Gonzalez and Menicheschi, it marked their first collegiate goals. It was Kemp's second-ever goal contribution, as she notched an assist against Bloomsburg on Oct. 4, 2023.
 
The Raiders were statistically dominant, totaling 30 shots and 18 on goal compared to Mansfield's two total shots (both on goal). SU also tallied nine corners to the Mountaineers zero.
 
Sophomore Kirstin Brown was perfect on the afternoon, notching two saves for her third shutout of the season and her second consecutive clean sheet.
 
Before the game, Chloe Chipego, Dietrich, Jenna Folmar, Maddy Tursi, Olivia Stephen and Katie Willis were recognized in the Senior Day ceremony.
 
With four games remaining in the regular season, SU sits in sixth place in the PSAC Eastern Division standings with 17 points. The Raiders are in proximity to fifth-place Millersville (19 points) and fourth-place Bloomsburg (20 points). The Top 4 teams in the Eastern Division standings will qualify for the PSAC Tournament at season's end.
 
Shippensburg hosts Millersville at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at David See Field.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shippensburg Women's Soccer (@suwsoccer)