No. 2 West Chester Stymies No. 3 East Stroudsburg on the Road, 15-6
EAST STROUDSBURG, PA – West Chester's defense was as constant and pressing as the rain that poured down for the majority of the heavyweight battle with East Stroudsburg as the second-ranked Golden Rams stopped third-ranked Warriors, 15-6, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division tussle at soaked Whitenight Field Wednesday.
West Chester (7-0, 2-0 PSAC East) remained unbeaten and wrestled the upper hand away from East Stroudsburg (5-2, 1-1) early on in the conference slate with the road win.
The Golden Rams defense stood tall over the final 30 minutes, surrendering just one goal after halftime while pulling away with seven tallies of their own. It marked the fourth straight win over ESU and the third straight at Whitenight Field for WCU.
"I was so proud of our defensive effort, especially in the second half," head coach Ginny Martino said afterwards. "We really rose to the challenge and forced (ESU) into limited quality looks at our cage. Even playing a man down, or two men down, we were able to limit their options. We were able to stay one step ahead of their attack."
That defensive effort held ESU All-American Emily Mitarotonda to just one goal in the contest.
Hannah Stanislawczyk (Mohnton, Pa./Gov. Mifflin) and Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) each finished with four goals on the day. Piper Hammond (Tucson, Ariz./Southridge) and Kendall Fortune (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) each potted a pair of goals.
West Chester held an 8-5 lead at the break, and then shut out East Stroudsburg in the third quarter, scoring twice themselves. The Golden Rams followed up with five goals in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Following the Warriors only tally after half to open the final 15 minutes, Wasdick scored two of her four on the day four minutes apart to double up ESU, 12-6.
Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) scooped up 12 draw controls – the third most in a game in school history. Julia Littlewood (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) picked up five ground balls, and Stanislawczyk caused four turnovers to go with her four goals.
Jessica Gorr (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) made 10 saves and secured six ground balls in the cage for West Chester. ESU's Abby Simonetti made 15 saves for the Warriors.
The game between two of the top three ranked schools in Division II was the ninth time in the last 13 meetings between the rivals that featured both participants ranked among the Top 10 in the country.
West Chester will return to action on Saturday with another road contest within the Eastern Division at Bloomsburg. That game is set to begin at 1 p.m.
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