SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The sophomore duo of Jessica Traynor (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) and Brinley Rex (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) each recorded a goal for second-ranked Kutztown to erase an early 1-0 deficit, but top-ranked and unbeaten Shippensburg scored twice in the final 10 minutes to climb out of its own hole and come out on top of a 3-2 win Tuesday afternoon at Robb Sports Complex in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference matchup of the top two and only undefeated teams coming in.
 
It was the first defeat in conference play for the Golden Bears (10-2 overall, 4-1 PSAC), who's only two losses during the regular season have come against the Raiders (12-0, 5-0), the first one was 2-0 in favor of Ship back on Sept. 18, at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
Aside from their last game, a 6-0 victory over Frostburg State last Friday night, the Maroon and Gold had been involved in some tightly contested games over the last five, four of them by one run and three went to overtime. KU once again in for a fight Tuesday as it fell behind by a goal as Shippensburg's Alexa Michielsen found the back of the cage just 0:56 after the opening whistle.
 
But just as the Raiders did at the start of the first quarter, Kutztown followed suit right at the end of the second quarter as Traynor tallied her fifth goal of the season off an assist by Sarah Gatehouse (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) on an untimed penalty corner with no time left on the clock and the teams went into halftime tied 1-1.
 
Then, with 2:50 to play in the third quarter, the Golden Bears took their first lead of the contest. Following a botched corner, Juliana Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Schalick) retrieved the ball as it left the circle and quickly sent it back to the edge to satisfy the entry. From there, Gatehouse sent a cross-circle pass to Marissa Rice (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter Strasburg), who hit a low ball toward the left post. Rex redirected the ball into the cage for her first career goal, giving her team a 2-1 advantage.
 
With just under 10 minutes to play, however, the hosts responded on their turf and netted two goals as Ashley Button and Agus Garibaldi found the back of the cage to send SU victorious.
 
The teams each had just four shots on cage and Shippensburg recorded nine overall to Kutztown's five. KU finished with a 5-1 edge in corners. Mia Kepler (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) made one save for KU.
 
Kutztown will have three days off until it returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 19, when it hosts No. 10 Mansfield at 11 a.m., from Andre Reed Stadium.

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