The Shippensburg University lacrosse team lost to Shepherd, 19-15, on Wednesday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division game at Ram Stadium.
Shippensburg fell to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the PSAC East. Shepherd improved to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
The Raiders trailed by three goals at halftime but used a 5-0 run in the third quarter to take a 10-9 lead with 5:15 remaining in the period. Shepherd answered and held a 12-11 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Rams then scored six goals over a nine-minute stretch in the final period to pull away.
Shepherd finished with a 33-29 advantage in shots on goal. Shippensburg goalkeeper Izzy Sawicki made a career-high 14 saves. Shepherd goalkeeper Bailey Terry also made 14 saves.
A key factor in the game was draw controls, where Shepherd held a 27-9 advantage and won 21 of the first 25 draws.
Grace Lyon led Shepherd with six goals and one assist. She also had 20 draw controls, three groundballs, and two caused turnovers. Hadley Robertson added five goals, while Grace Meyer and Rebekah Forney each scored twice. Eight Rams scored at least one goal.
Shippensburg was led offensively by Maddie Phommachanh and Lexi Koz, who each scored a career-high five goals. Phommachanh also had a career-high five groundballs, two draw controls, and two caused turnovers. The performance marked her fourth hat trick of the season and the 10th of her career.
Koz entered the game with three career goals in five games and had never scored more than once in a game. She scored all five of her goals in the second half and converted all five of her shots on goal.
Shannon Wood tied her career high with four goals and added one assist and one draw control. Brynn Hauck scored once and led the team with three assists.
Olivia Glinski and Ali Pioli each had two assists and combined for seven groundballs. Pioli also had two draw controls. Alexa Bailey and Abby Schwartz-Mitchell each recorded one assist.
Grace DeMarzio led the Raiders with three caused turnovers and added three groundballs. Shawn Coombs also had multiple groundballs.
Shippensburg committed a season-low 12 turnovers.
The Raiders will remain on the road and play at Millersville on Saturday at 1 p.m.
