NCAA FIRST ROUND: #3 Shippensburg Runs Past #7 Field Hockey, 6-1


Freedman smashed her career-best with 19 saves, breaking the program's career saves record in the process. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix)

Smith breaks NCAA Division II goals record, Freedman snaps Stonehill's career saves mark in season finale

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (November 11, 2017) – Third-seeded and reigning NCAA Division II National Champions Shippensburg University, ranked No. 3 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, is headed back to the national semifinal round for the second straight year after reeling off five unanswered goals for a 6-1 victory over sixth-seeded and No. 7-ranked Stonehill College in first round action of the 2017 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Tournament at Robb Sports Complex this afternoon.

Shippensburg (15-1, 9-1 PSAC) advances to next weekend's NCAA Field Hockey Championships, hosted by Bellarmine University, in Louisville, Kentucky, to face second-seeded and No. 1-ranked East Stroudsburg University (17-4, 8-2 PSAC) in Friday's semifinal round at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium at 10 a.m. Stonehill sees its season come to a close with a 13-7 record overall, including 10-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference, having earned the program's ninth NCAA Tournament bid.

Despite the loss, Stonehill junior All-American Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) netted her 41st goal of the season to break the NCAA Division II single-season record of 40 set by Jamie Vanartsdalen of Bloomsburg University in 2008. Smith finishes the season with 41 goals and a program-record 17 assists for an NE10 record 99 points – just three shy of Vanartsdalen's NCAA II mark of 102 points in 2008. Smith's goal leveled the score just 1:21 after Shippensburg had grabbed an early lead.

Junior goalkeeper Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) registered a career-high 19 saves in the Stonehill goal, giving her 366 in 60 career games to surpass the previous program record of 356 stops by Cindy Pulz '03.


Smith netted her 41st goal of the season, breaking the nine-year-old NCAA Division II record. (PHOTO BY William Whisler/Shippensburg Communications)

Senior Emily Barnard (Vestal, New York/Vestal) and freshman Jazmin Petrantonio (Saenz Pena, Argentina) scored two goals apiece to lead Shippensburg to the win, while senior Brooke Sheibley (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania/Northern) dished two assists. Junior Ally Mooney (Spring City, Pennsylvania/Owen J. Roberts) finished with three saves in the Raiders cage.

Petrantonio opened the scoring just 6:15 into the contest when she knocked in a pass from Sheibley. Smith's record-breaking goal off a corner pass from senior Alexandra Dillon (Canton, Massachusetts/Canton) at the 7:36 mark provided a quick answer for Stonehill.

Barnard pushed Shippensburg back in front at 25:30 with a lofted shot from close range off a loose ball. The Raiders followed that with two goals in the final two minutes of the half to take control of the game with a 4-1 halftime lead. Barnard's second of the day and 20th of the season came with 1:41 left in the half and then senior Lauren Zengulis (Bangor, Pennsylvania/Bangor Area) netted her fifth of the season off a Sheibley pass following a corner after time had expired in the frame.

Senior Madison Scarr (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania/Lewisburg Area) extended the Shippensburg lead to 5-1 just 2:34 into the second half, capping a run of four Raiders goals over a 12-minute span wrapped around halftime. Petrantonio capped the scoring with a penalty stroke for her tenth goal of the year at 57:06.          

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