Gallery: (9-4-2026) 2026 Field Hockey vs. Belmont Abbey
The Shippensburg University field hockey team scored twice in a 38-second span of the second quarter on Friday to claim a victory in its 2026 season opener, as the No. 1-ranked Raiders dispatched Belmont Abbey, 4-0, on a warm, muggy and humid morning at Wingate University.
Shippensburg (1-0) maintained a 2-0 lead at halftime and scored once in each of the final two quarters en route to the win. SU totaled 13 shots on goal (12 after the first quarter) and recorded nine attacking penalty corners without yielding any defensive penalty corners.
The Raiders opened the scoring at the 18-minute mark off a penalty corner, as senior
Hannah White lowered her stick for a high redirect into the cage off a shot from the top of the circle by junior
Elaina Fragassi.
Shortly thereafter, junior
Anne Gardner completed a run up the left wing and delivered a forceful centering pass to the middle of the circle, at which senior
McKenna Boyle had her stick at the ready for a tip-in that put SU up 2-0.
Belmont Abbey (0-1) recorded the first shot on goal of the match less than 90 seconds in, but the Crusaders did not achieve another shot on target the rest of the way. First-year goalkeeper
Liv Schweighart turned that chance aside for the Raiders and patrolled the cage for all 60 minutes to claim the shutout.
Gardner got on the board late in the third quarter by slamming in a shot from White. In the fourth quarter, after a foul in the circle on a penalty corner, senior
Carme Caracotche Picone converted the stroke to create the final scoring margin.
Shippensburg returns to action at 10 a.m. tomorrow with a road game at No. 10 Lander.
