Gallery: (4-22-2026) 2026 Lacrosse vs. Shepherd 4.22
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University lacrosse team qualified for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament for the first time in 19 years on Wednesday by virtue of a convincing 17-5 victory over Shepherd in an Eastern Division match held at sunny Robb Sports Complex.
Shippensburg (7-9, 4-7 PSAC East) and Shepherd (2-12, 1-9) were tied 3-3 with 4:52 left in the first quarter when the Raiders proceeded to unleash a 10-0 run over the next 31 minutes of play to take control. The hosts outscored the Rams 7-0 in the second quarter en route to a 12-3 halftime lead.
The Raiders, under the direction of reigning PSAC East Coach of the Year
Brooke DellaValle will be competing next week in the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2007, when a Naomi Radio-led squad traveled to West Chester for a quarterfinal.
Shippensburg has now achieved back-to-back seasons of seven or more victories for the first time since 2017-18 under Nicole Meehan. The Raiders improved to 6-1 this season when leading at the half and 7-3 this season in games in which they won the turnover margin.
Ten different Raiders had at least one point Wednesday, while nine different Raiders scored a goal and six Raiders had at least one assist. Five Raiders finished with five or more points.
Shannon Wood, who had not recorded a hat trick in her first three seasons, produced her team-leading sixth hat trick of the year in Wednesday's victory. Wood had three goals, two assists, a groundball and a draw control.
Olivia Glinski matched her career high with four assists while scoring a goal and picking up a pair of groundballs. It is Glinski's seventh game this season with multiple assists and the fifth time this season she tallied three or more assists in a game.
Ali Pioli delivered her first hat trick of the season and the fourth of her career to match a single-game career best in goals (three). Pioli was once again integral in the circle, matching the team high with five draw controls while collecting two groundballs. She also added an assist and a caused turnover.
Brynn Hauck,
Maddie Phommachanh,
Lexi Koz and
Erin Reedy each scored twice. Reedy added an assist; she entered the day with just one goal and one assist thus far in her collegiate career.
Phommachanh recorded three caused turnovers and two groundballs, while Hauck won three draw controls and had two groundballs.
Jill Ahlgren doubled her season total in assists with two while firing home her seventh goal of the year. Ahlgren also had a caused turnover.
Allie Dunn scored her first collegiate goal in the fourth quarter, depositing a feed from Reedy with 6:41 to go, while
Alexa Bailey set up Hauck's second goal of the day.
Shippensburg capitalized all day long on quick transition opportunities from defense to offense, with
Grace DeMarzio once again stirring the drink along the back lines. DeMarzio recorded seven groundballs (just two short of her career high) while racking up five caused turnovers (just one short of her career high) and matching Pioli with five draw controls.
Fellow defender
Hanna Woolf contributed a caused turnover and three groundballs. Nine different Raiders finished with at least one caused turnover, while 12 different Raiders collected at least one groundball.
Izzy Sawicki made six saves while facing 11 total shots on goal; among the stops was her 100th of the season. Sawicki ranks fourth in the PSAC in saves per game (7.43).
Leah Cramer patrolled the cage for the final 7:11 and made a save on the only shot on goal against her.
The Rams took a pair of one-goal leads in the first six minutes but managed only two draw controls and seven shots on goal over the final three quarters. Luetta Seipp played hard down to the final whistle. Seipp registered a remarkable eight caused turnovers – which is tied for the most by any PSAC player in a game this season – to go along with five groundballs.
Wednesday marked the second straight game in which the Raiders avenged a loss to an opponent from earlier this season with a victory by greater than a 10-goal margin. Back on March 25, Shepherd defeated Shippensburg at Ram Stadium, 19-15.
Despite one game still remaining in the regular season, the best that Millersville or Bloomsburg could do is tie the Raiders in the standings, and Shippensburg has the tiebreaker over both teams (goal differential over Millersville, head-to-head over Bloomsburg).
Shippensburg will conclude its regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday at No. 11 West Chester.
Next Tuesday at 4 p.m., the Raiders will travel to face No. 7 Slippery Rock in a PSAC Quarterfinal at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
