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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Coming off its first loss of 2016, the fourth-ranked Kutztown University field hockey team looks to bounce back when it welcomes second-ranked Shippensburg University to Andre Reed Stadium for a 7 p.m. showdown on Tuesday, Sept. 20. It is the second match in a stretch of three against top-six opponents for the Golden Bears, whose week culminates with a visit to top-ranked East Stroudsburg to open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Tuesday's match will be telecast on KUTV, the first of three contests to be broadcast by the University's electronic media department this fall. Fans can watch the game on Service Electric Cablevision Channel 24 and 524 (HD), Hometown Utilicom Channel 191 in Kutztown and eastern Berks Country, and Service Electric Channel 266 in the Lehigh Valley. All games are also available through KUTV's webcast.
 
Tuesday will feature a matchup of two teams coming off their first losses of the season last Saturday. Shippensburg (5-1) lost to the aforementioned No. 1 East Stroudsburg, 1-0 in overtime. Prior to its setback against sixth-ranked Millersville on Saturday, KU had gotten off to its first 4-0 start since the 2011 season.
 
The loss to Millersville came in the most agonizing of circumstances imaginable.  The Marauders were awarded a penalty corner just as the clock hit 0:00 of double overtime, giving it one untimed penalty corner attempt, which it converted to down the Golden Bears in dramatic fashion.
 
KU went toe-to-toe with the nationally-ranked Marauders (4-1), but it was outshot 26-8 – 20-1 on-goal – and still nearly posted a shutout to force penalty strokes. Junior goalkeeper Chardonnay Hope (New Castle, Del./William Penn) had the performance of her career, registering a career-high 19 saves, including a penalty stroke.
 
Hope is 4-1 to begin the season, starting in every match and playing in all but 3:42 of game time. She ranks second in the PSAC with a .886 save percentage and an average of 7.8 saves per game, and fifth with a .928 goals against average.  
 
Junior Madison Stewart (New Castle, Del./William Penn) leads the Kutztown offense that is atop the PSAC in scoring average at 3.0 goals per game. She paces the conference with an average of 7.0 shots per contest. She is also third in assists per game (0.40), sixth in points per game (1.6), and ninth in goals per game (0.60). Her two game-winning goals rank second.
 
The contest will be a matchup of strengths as Shippensburg leads the NCAA, holding opponents to just 0.33 goals per game. Raider goalkeeper Ally Mooney is atop the NCAA with a .171 goals-against-average and .938 save percentage, and has recorded four shutouts.

The Shippensburg offense plays its part as well, averaging 2.7 goals through its first six matches, which is in the top half of the PSAC. Leading the way is Katelyn Grazan and Noelle Kephart, whose averages of 0.83 and 0.67 goals per contest rank third and fourth in the conference, respectively.