SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Senior Alexa Michielsen scored a golden goal 6:56 into overtime Sunday to propel the No. 1-ranked Shippensburg University field hockey team to a 1-0 overtime win over No. 2 East Stroudsburg in an exciting Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship match from a cloudy Robb Sports Complex.
 
Shippensburg (18-1) and East Stroudsburg (16-4) played a tight defensive match in which premium scoring chances were few and far between. It was another splendid entry in a series history in which eight of the last 10 meetings have been decided by one goal.
 
The difference proved to be a broken play in overtime, as junior Agus Garibaldi intercepted a cross-field pass in the offensive zone, entered the circle and distributed the ball in the middle to Michielsen.
 
A foul was spotted on the play which resulted in a pending penalty corner, but advantage was granted and Michielsen kept playing. She fired a shot into the lower right portion of the goal that gave the Raiders their third PSAC Championship in school history.
 
All of the goalkeepers came up big in regulation for their respective teams. Redshirt-junior Emma Albee had a number of key stops – including a foot save on Jady Van Gils in the first half and a diving stick save on Kerry Kaufman in the second half.
 
ESU once again used two goalkeepers; Sydney Pope made a splendid play and a save to dispel a breakaway by freshman Anne Gardner in the first half and Jet Vermeulen recorded three key saves in overtime prior to the golden goal.
 
Michielsen's goal was her ninth of the season. She had one game-winning goal prior to this week's conference tournament but delivered two in the last three days; her golden goal on Friday gave SU its 2-1 semifinal victory over Bloomsburg.
 
Shots on goal and penalty corners each ended up 6-5 in Shippensburg's favor. Albee finished with five saves while Vermuelen had four of ESU's five stops.  
 
Shippensburg earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships; the NCAA selection show is scheduled for 3 p.m. tomorrow and will air on ncaa.com.
 
The next game for the Raiders will be an NCAA Quarterfinal next Saturday.
 
Notes: Shippensburg is now 21-30 all-time in the PSAC Tournament…Sunday marked its 15th appearance in the PSAC Championship game…SU's previous PSAC Championships came in 2005 and 2021, all won at Robb Sports Complex…SU advances to the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships for the 18th time in school history...SU is 10-0 this season against nationally-ranked opponents.
 

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