SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The No. 1-ranked Shippensburg University field hockey team posted an impressive 4-1 win over No. 5 West Chester in a Top-5 matchup Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action at Robb Sports Complex.
 
Shippensburg (10-0, 3-0 PSAC) scored a goal in all four quarters against West Chester (7-3, 2-1), with all four tallies coming off the stick of different players.
 
Kelly Naudé's speed in possession netted the Raiders' opening goal 12 minutes in. The forward collected the ball following a restart and bolted past several WCU defenders on a straight line drive into the circle before smashing a shot past Audra Szymborski in the West Chester cage.
 
Lilly Cantabene doubled the advantage less than two minutes into the second quarter via penalty corner. Her reverse mid-air hit on the doorstep off a feed from Carme Caracotche Picone resulted in her team-leading eighth goal of the season.
 
Early in the third quarter, Elaina Fragassi won the ball in midfield and delivered the pass ahead to Anne Gardner for the Raiders' third goal.
 
West Chester pulled one back via Ella Shockley just minutes later, but the outcome was never really in doubt.
 
Fragassi wrapped up the scoring with a fourth quarter tally, batting a chest-high ball out of mid-air in front of the cage after Emily Bitters' initial shot was kept out via an Allison Patel defensive save.
 
The Raiders outshot the Golden Rams 15-to-3 in the first half and did not allow a penalty corner in the first 30 minutes. They maintained a 14-to-8 advantage in shots on goal for the game.
 
Szymborski finished with nine saves in the Golden Ram cage, seven of which came in the first quarter. Emma Albee totaled seven stops for Shippensburg.
 
Saturday's outcome was Shippensburg's 11th consecutive win over West Chester dating back to the start of the 2021 season, and the team's second win over the Golden Rams this season. Shippensburg defeated West Chester 3-2 in double overtime in a road nonconference matchup back on Sept. 9.
 
Shippensburg next travels to Millersville for a midweek nonconference clash Wednesday at 6 p.m. The two sides will meet again in an official PSAC matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Robb Sports Complex.
 

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