Women's Lacrosse Travels to West Chester Tuesday for PSAC Semifinals

Apr. 30, 2007

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg women's lacrosse team, under first-year head coach Naomi Radio, will travel to West Chester on Tuesday for the semifinals of the 2007 PSAC Women's Lacrosse Championship. Game time from West Chester's South Campus Turf Field is at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets to Tuesday's semifinal contest are $7 for adults and $2 for children. Students from PSAC member institutions will be admitted free with a valid ID. There are NO complimentary tickets, but PSAC passes will be honored.

Tuesday's other semifinal game will feature third-seeded Bloomsburg at second-seeded Lock Haven beginning at 4:00 p.m., from Lock Haven's Charlotte Smith Field. The two winners will meet in the PSAC title game on Saturday, May 5 at the home of the highest remaining seed.

The Lady Raiders (8-9, 7-7 PSAC) will be making their fifth PSAC championship since 1994 (1995, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2007), including third in the last four years, but are looking for their first win.

Tuesday will mark the fourth postseason meeting for Shippensburg and West Chester and will be a rematch of last year's semifinal contest in which the Lady Raiders nearly upset the No. 3-ranked Golden Rams before losing, 16-12.

The two teams have met in the championship game twice with West Chester winning 16-10 in 1995 and 18-9 in 1996.

In 2004, Shippensburg was the No. 2-seed in the conference championship, but was upset at home by third-seeded Bloomsburg 15-10, ending one of the finest seasons in Lady Raider history.

Meanwile, the Golden Rams (15-1, 14-0 PSAC) finished the regular-season undefeated and in first-place in the conference standings. A win in the semifinals would advance West Chester to the championship game for the seventh-straight year.

The Lady Raiders are led by junior Kristin Crutchfield (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) who leads the team in scoring with 62 points on 51 goals and 11 assists, also team-highs. This year marks the second consecutive season in which the team has had a player score at least 50 goals. Kim Hudicka '06, who finished her career with 101, scored 56 goals a year ago.

Juniors Katie Irwin (Aston/Cardinal O'Hara) and junior Kelly Smith (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) each have 23 goals for Shippensburg while Irwin also has a team-high 11 assists and is second on the team in points with 34.

West Chester leads the conference in goals per game at 20.12, but Shippensburg, led by freshman Lauren Marron (Macungie/Emmaus), is fourth in goals against average at 11.11.

The Golden Rams have outscored the Lady Raiders 45-8 in two meetings this season with Crutchfield scoring four of Shippensburg's eight goals. She did not play in the team's 22-2 loss to West Chester at home on April 18 after suffering an ankle injury prior to the game that caused her to miss the next three contests.

Sophomore Hannah Sperber (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) netted both second half goals for Shippensburg after West Chester led 14-0 at halftime and scored the first 17 goals before Sperber scored at 42:13.

In goal, Marron totaled 13 saves against the Golden Rams on April 18 while facing 43 shots, including 35 on goal. She did not play in the first meeting between the two teams, a 23-6 West Chester victory at home on March 27.

In that game, sophomore Beth Long (Berwyn/Conestoga) and sophomore Brittany Franzen (Waterford, Va./St. John's at Prospect Hall) combined for nine saves. In two games against Shippensburg this season, the Golden Rams have totaled 88 shots, 80 of which were on goal.

- Lady Raider Lacrosse -