Gallery: (8-27-2026) 2026 Women's Soccer vs. W.Va. Wesleyan
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's soccer team earned a draw in a back-and-forth season-opening salvo against West Virginia Wesleyan on a sunny Thursday afternoon at David See Field, 2-2.
Shippensburg (0-0-1) came back after conceding inside the first minute, taking the lead with a pair of first-half tallies, only for West Virginia Wesleyan (0-0-1) to find an equalizer late in the second half.
The Raiders settled into the match and began to dominate possession following the early goal. In the 23rd minute,
Ashley Hughes met a well-placed cross from
Kamryn Runkle with the side of her right boot at the far post to even the scoring.
The Raiders crept in front on a 33rd minute corner kick. The initial cross caromed off a Bobcat defender to
Cailin Spelman on the edge of the box. The SU junior created space in a crowded area with a beautiful turn and lofted a curling attempt on goal that sailed past the reach of WVW goalie Zoe Brown and into the top left corner of the net.
SU held the lead until the 87th minute of the match, when an errant clearance and miscommunication on a long free kick allowed Wesleyan's Ayan Ahmed to head the ball into an open net.
The Raiders nearly regained the advantage shortly after, but
Andrea Black was denied on a 1-v-1 with the Bobcat keeper.
Shippensburg's overall dominating play was evidenced by a 14-to-5 shots on goal advantage and a 17-to-4 advantage in corner kicks during the 90 minutes.
Wesleyan's Brown totaled 12 saves, while Shippensburg goalie
Kirstin Brown was credited with three stops.
Bobcat Tessa Grisez opened the scoring via a header off a Natalie Carlock corner kick.
The Raiders return to action on the road Saturday when they take on Lackawanna Saturday at 1 p.m. Matches against Lackawanna will count toward the team's overall record and season statistics but will not count in the conference standings or NCAA record.
