RENTON, WA – Shippensburg goalkeeper Lindsay Tripodo made 22 saves to help the Raiders overcome third-seeded West Chester, 4-2, in the second semifinal contest of the day in the NCAA Semifinals Thursday evening inside Renton Memorial Stadium.
West Chester (15-5) saw its 2022 season come to an end in the final weekend of the year for the fourth straight campaign. Shippensburg (16-3) advances to the national championship game for a chance to defend its national title from a year ago against East Stroudsburg, which defeated Assumption, 3-0, in the other semifinal.
The Golden Rams cut the Raiders two-goal halftime lead to one with a tip from
Olivia Quagliero (South Hampton, N.J./Seneca) early in the third quarter. However, Shippensburg came right back with another goal of its own to restore the two-goal lead and take away any momentum.
"My hat is off to Lindsay (Tripodo)," West Chester University head coach
Amy Cohen said. "She played fantastic. The game came down to play in the defensive circle and the offensive circle. We gave (Shippensburg) too much room to work, and their goalie was awesome."
Valerie van Kuijck (Denbosch, The Netherlands) added a tally, her 19th of the season, with a little over two minutes left in the game to make it a two-goal game again (4-2). But, that was as close as the Rams would get the rest of the way.
West Chester outshot Shippensburg, 14-0, in the second quarter. But, the Raiders were able to weather the storm of three straight penalty corners without allowing the goal with just under three minutes left in the first half.
The Golden Rams kept the pressure turned up throughout the rest of the third quarter, but much like the late portion of the first half, West Chester could not capitalize. The Golden Rams had a penalty stroke disallowed for a double tap in the third that would have pulled them to within one.
"There were so many other opportunities for us in that game," Cohen commented afterwards. "So, I don't want to say that (the disallowed stroke) was a key moment."
West Chester outshot Shippensburg in the game, 42-8. However, the difference was Raiders' goalkeeper Lindsay Tripodo, who made 22 saves on the day. The Golden Rams' keeper,
Tess Garchinsky (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) made three saves. West Chester's 42 shots was its third-highest shot total of the year in a single game and the second most shots taken in an NCAA Division II field hockey match.
