Gallery: (4-28-2026) 2026 Lacrosse at Slippery Rock (PSAC QF)
The Shippensburg University lacrosse team put forth a competitive effort in its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament contest in 19 years on Tuesday, as it lost 17-8 to undefeated and No. 7-ranked Slippery Rock on a cool afternoon at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
Shippensburg (7-11) scored the opening goal of the game – an
Olivia Glinski tally at the 2:51 mark – before Slippery Rock (18-0) unleashed an 8-0 run that stretched to the midway point of the second quarter. The hosts led 9-2 at the intermission.
Undaunted, SU outscored The Rock 4-1 in the third quarter – making it a 10-6 game with 15 minutes to go. Slippery Rock entered Tuesday's game having outscored its opponents 78-23 in the third quarter this season.
The hosts reeled off three straight goals to open the fourth; the Raiders countered with back-to-back strikes to make it a five-goal game with 11 minutes left. Slippery Rock found the back of the net four more times down the stretch, outscoring the Raiders 7-2 overall in the fourth quarter to create the final margin.
Ali Pioli delivered a four-point game, scoring two goals and recording two assists. Pioli also recorded two groundballs, a caused turnover and a draw control.
Izzy Sawicki kept the Raiders in it with a strong effort in goal. Sawicki made 11 saves – marking her sixth double-digit effort of the season – while facing a season-high 43 shots (28 on goal).
Brynn Hauck also found the back of the net twice to go along with three groundballs, a caused turnover and a draw control.
Shannon Wood and
Maddie Phommachanh each had a goal and an assist, while Glinski and
Lexi Koz added a tally.
Four Raiders recorded two caused turnovers: Wood,
Shawn Coombs,
Grace DeMarzio and
Emily Lapinsky. DeMarzio led all players with five groundballs. Glinski matched Hauck with three groundballs.
Overall, Slippery Rock outshot the Raiders 43-23 but missed the net 15 times. Draw controls were also 21-6 in favor of the hosts. Both teams committed 21 turnovers.
Tuesday's game was the closest margin of the four conference quarterfinals. ESU defeated Lock Haven, 21-6; Kutztown defeated Seton Hill, 19-6; and West Chester defeated IUP, 20-6.
Shippensburg competed in the PSAC Tournament for the first time in 19 years, dating back to the 2007 season. SU falls to 2-17 all-time in the PSAC Women's Lacrosse Championships competition, with its two postseason victories coming in the inaugural tournament back in 1979.
Six seniors completed their Raider tenures with a playoff appearance as part of their capstone.
Jill Ahlgren, Coombs, DeMarzio,
Sydney Fowler, Pioli and Wood comprise the senior class; with Ahlgren joining this season as a graduate transfer to complement a group that contributed to 19 victories in their tenure.
DeMarzio's 43 caused turnovers this season are tied for the second-most in school history; her 74 draw controls rank fourth in single-season school history, while her 64 groundballs are tied for the fourth most in a single season.
Overall, DeMarzio ranks third in school history for career caused turnovers (103), fourth in career groundballs (177) and fourth in career draw controls (209).
Pioli, whose 69th career start on Tuesday tied for the most in SU history, wraps her time as a Raider ranked among SU's all-time Top 10 career leaders in four major categories. She finishes third in career draw controls (236), fourth in career assists (71), sixth in career caused turnovers (75) and ninth in career groundballs (145). Her 140 career points rank 15th in school history.
Coombs, who entered her senior season with just six career caused turnovers (through 21 games and just three starts), started all 18 games this season and delivered 30 caused turnovers – the ninth-most in a single season in school history.
Wood finished her senior season with a career-high 30 goals – three more than her career total through her first three years. Her 17 assists this season also exceeded her previous three-year career total by three. Wood tallied 57 goals and 31 assists (88 points) in 66 games as a Raider.
Fowler produced single-season career highs of four goals and six assists in 2026. Ahlgren contributed seven goals, three assists, 23 draw controls and nine caused turnovers in her lone SU campaign.
Another notable 2026 accomplishment was achieved by Glinski, whose 29 assists rank fourth in single-season school history.
