In their final regular season game of the year, Rock women’s lacrosse was able to sneak away with a close 11-10 victory over Shippensburg University (7-10) on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, The Rock’s record lands at 13-4, which sets a program record for most regular season wins in a season, while landing a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record of 8-4. The Rock’s record puts them as the no. 5 seed in the PSAC playoffs, which will set up a date with no. 4 Lock Haven University (12-5) to kick off the first round on Tuesday.
Rain and lightning delays came midway through the second half, which may have played in the Green and White’s favor as they trailed 7-6 with 29:14 left to play. The Rock would go on a four-goal run to take a 10-7 lead with just over 17 minutes left in the game, but then more lightning brought the game to a halt once again.
This time, the delay worked in the away team’s favor as Shippensburg scored two fast goals with a little over 10 minutes to play. Then with 3:25 left in regulation, sophomore midfielder Tori Penders was able to score what would eventually be the game-winning goal as the Raiders would net two more goals, but The Rock was able to win the final draw of the game with a successful clear to win the game 11-10.
Pender’s final goal was her fourth of the afternoon, while senior attacker Bre Vodde racked up two goals and two assists in the match. Senior goaltender Emily Bitka picked up her eleventh win of the season, while making 11 saves on the day.
SRU will look to get their first playoff victory in program history Tuesday night when the team travels to Lock Haven with the first draw set currently set for 4:00 p.m. The winner of the game will then move on to face the no. 1 seed West Chester University (17-0), who are looking to continue their perfect season.
