MILLERSVILLE, PA – Shippensburg scored three goals in the first eight minutes of the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 3-0 victory over West Chester in the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship Game inside Biemesderfer Stadium Sunday.
West Chester (17-5) ends its season in the national championship game for the second straight competitive season. The 2020 fall campaign was cancelled due to the corona virus pandemic. Shippensburg (20-0) won its fourth national championship in the last five competitive seasons.
"Shippensburg has a great team. They had an undefeated season and we lost to a better team today," West Chester head coach
Amy Cohen said. "But, to my team, I am really proud that they made it here. It's been a roller coaster of a ride."
Jenna Sluymer started the run 1:27 into the contest when she slapped a loose ball past West Chester goalkeeper
Claire Nielsen (Wescosville, PA/Emmaus), who was forced to come out of the cage to play ball. Jazmin Petrantonio made it 2-0 over four minutes later with a tally off a penalty corner that Nielsen got a piece of but couldn't steer aside. Valu Paul chipped in the third goal with 7:06 left in the opening quarter.
"(Shippensburg) was first to every ball," Cohen continued. "They came out quick. They came out fast and caught us on our heels and capitalized on that."
Nielsen made four saves, suffering her first loss in the NCAA Tournament. She is now 4-1 all-time in the NCAAs. Lindsey Tripodo made four saves in the win.
NOTES: West Chester's defeat in the national championship game marked the first time that the Golden Rams lost the title game. WCU is 7-1 all-time in the finals, including the four AIAW crowns in the mid 1970s … grad student
Caitie McNamara played in her 84th career game breaking the school record held by Rachal Toppi and Alexis Versak … four of West Chester's five losses in 2021 came at the hands of Shippensburg.
