EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The eighth ranked East Stroudsburg University women's lacrosse team handed Slippery Rock University a 20-6 defeat Saturday in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game at Whitenight Field.
 
The Warriors improve to 8-2 overall and remain in first place in the PSAC with a 5-0 record with the win. Slippery Rock drops to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in league games after playing its fifth nationally ranked opponent in the first eight games of the season.
 
The Rock scored the first goal of the game and was tied with ESU at 4-4 midway through the opening period before the Warriors closed the half on a 5-0 run to lead 9-4 at the break. SRU would never recover from that stretch and ESU extended the lead with an 11-2 advantage in the second half.
 
The Warriors finished the game with advantages of 36-17 in shots, 15-12 in draw controls and 32-24 in ground balls. The Rock struggled with possession for much of the day, going just 13-of-27 on clear attempts with 32 total turnovers.
 
Emily Benham paced the attack for SRU with a hat trick in the first half. Sami Gentzler added two goals and ShyAnne Toomer scored one goal and handed out one assist as The Rock finished with three goal scorers on the day. Katie Dlugosz handed out one assist to cap the scorers.
 
Danie Porath led the defensive unit with three caused turnovers and Rachel Shaw added five ground balls. Haley Barrett allowed 18 goals and made nine saves in just shy of 57 minutes in goal. Grace Phillips played the final 3:24, allowing two goals and making one save.
 
East Stroudsburg got six points on three goals and three assists from Shannon Dent and also got hat tricks from TJ Jefferis and Krista Mitarotonda. Tatyana Petteway picked up the win in goal after recording five saves.
 
Saturday's game marked the third top 10 opponent Slippery Rock has faced on the road this season. The Rock have now played four road games against nationally ranked opponents, accounting for four of the team's five losses.
 
Slippery Rock will look to get back in the win column and even its PSAC record when it visits Seton Hill University Tuesday for a 4 p.m. match.
 

 
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