SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 12th-ranked Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team will face No. 14 East Stroudsburg University in the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament Friday at 4 p.m. at West Chester University.
 
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GAME 17 DETAILS
• Opponent: East Stroudsburg University
• Date: Friday, May 2, 2025  |  4 p.m.
• Location: Vonnie Gros Field  |  West Chester, Pa.
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• All-Time Series: East Stroudsburg leads 10-9
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +1
• Last Meeting: March 5, 2025 at ESU – SRU won 12-6
 
PLAYOFF FIELD
Slippery Rock earned the No. 1 seed in the West Division and will play against East Stroudsburg, the No. 2 seed in the East Division. The Warriors defeated No. 3 seed Millersville 13-9 Tuesday in the quarterfinals. West Chester earned the No. 1 seed in the East Division and will host Seton Hill, the No. 2 seed in the West. The Griffins advanced to the semifinals with a 14-12 win over No. 3 seed Lock Haven Tuesday. The winners of Friday's semifinal games will meet Sunday at noon at West Chester for the PSAC Championship.  
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Slippery Rock held steady at the highest ranking for the program since it was reinstated as a varsity sport in 2007 and enters this week at No. 7 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll and No. 12 in the IWLCA national poll. East Stroudsburg currently ranks No. 14 in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 16 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS
All four of the teams in the PSAC semifinals occupy the top four spots in this week's Atlantic Region Rankings. West Chester sits atop the rankings, followed by Slippery Rock at No. 2, East Stroudsburg at No. 3 and Seton Hill at No. 4.
 
THIS WEEK'S REGIONAL RANKINGS
1. West Chester
2. Slippery Rock
3. East Stroudsbrug
4. Seton Hill
5. Kutztown
6. Wingate
7. Millersville
8. Limestone
 
SRU AGAINST THE REGION
Slippery Rock is 4-0 against teams in the top eight in the regional rankings and 5-0 against teams that rank in the top eight in the region in terms of the NCAA's RPI metric. The Rock have road wins at East Stroudsburg, Seton Hill, Limestone and Newberry (No. 8 in RPI) and a home win over Seton Hill.
 
RECORDS
Slippery Rock is 15-1 and went 10-0 in the PSAC West to claim the first division title in program history. The Rock are riding a program-record 10-game win streak and are coming off an 18-11 win over Lock Haven in the regular season finale last Saturday. East Stroudsburg is 14-4 overall and went 10-2 in the PSAC East with both losses coming to undefeated West Chester. The Warriors are riding a seven-game winning streak and are coming off a 13-9 win in the quarterfinals against Millersville Tuesday.
 
ROCK WINS FIRST PSAC WEST TITLE
Slippery Rock won the PSAC West title this spring to mark the first division title in program history.
 
SRU IN THE PLAYOFFS
The postseason appearance this spring for SRU marks just the fourth PSAC playoff berth in program history. The Rock earned their first modern-era postseason win with a victory in the opening round of the PSAC Playoffs last season before falling to West Chester in the semifinals. SRU has never reached the PSAC title game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES  |  Game-by-Game Scores
East Stroudsburg owns a 10-9 edge in the all-time series that began back in 1988. The teams met once a year for 10 straight seasons between 2010 and 2019 with each team winning five of those meetings. The teams did not meet again after the 2019 season until earlier this spring when Slippery Rock earned a 12-6 upset win on the road at ESU back on March 5.
 
LAST MEETING MARCH 5, 2025  |  Box Score
Slippery Rock went on a 6-0 run in the first half and put together a 3-0 run in the fourth quarter to earn a 12-6 upset win on the road at No. 9 East Stroudsburg back on March 5. The Rock finished the game with advantages of 25-17 in shots, 12-10 in draw controls and 27-16 in ground balls while causing all 17 of the ESU turnovers in the game. Reagan Richeson tallied a season-high seven points with six goals and one assist to lead the SRU attack. Grace Rotter added a hat trick and Leora Owings scored two goals while grabbing six draw controls and causing three turnovers. Paige Jenkins caused four turnovers and picked up four ground balls and goalie Lily Ventresca made eight saves while allowing just six goals. ESU was paced by Sadie Kauffman with two goals and one assist while Ariana Tucci and Paige Moreland each scored one goal and handed out one assist. Abby Simonetti finished with 10 saves and 12 goals allowed.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Overall Record: 15-1
• PSAC Record: 10-0
• Home Record: 6-0
• Away Record: 9-1
• Streak: W10
• Last Five Games: 5-0
• Head Coach: Taryn Burkholder (4th season, Niagara '12)  |  Record: 50-19
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock put together a 7-0 run in the second quarter on the way to an 18-11 win over Lock Haven last Saturday to close the regular season with a 10-0 record in the PSAC West. The Rock fired 44 shots in the game and finished with advantages of 44-19 in shots, 26-6 in draw controls and 21-17 in ground balls. Abby Fink tied her career-high with seven points on six goals and one assist. Grace Rotter added five goals, Reagan Richeson had three goals and three assists and Leora Owings handed out four assists and pulled down a career-high 14 draw controls. SRU's two goalies combined for four saves and 11 goals allowed.
 
GOING FOR 11TH STRAIGHT WIN
Slippery Rock's current 10-game winning streak is the longest winning streak in SRU lacrosse program history.
 
FOURTH STRAIGHT 10-WIN SEASON
Slippery Rock has already locked up a 10-win season to mark the fourth straight 10-win season and just the ninth 10-win season in program history. Head coach Taryn Burkholder has led the program to at least 10 wins in every year of her career and becomes the first coach in program history with four 10-win seasons. Burkholder has won 50 games in four seasons at SRU, making her the fastest coach in program history to 50 wins.
 
SINGLE-SEASON WINS RECORD
Slippery Rock's 15 wins are the most in a single season in program history, tied with the 15 wins recorded by the 2024 team that went 15-4 last spring. The 30 wins over the last two seasons is the best two-year stretch in program history.
 
BURKHOLDER REPEATS AS COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Taryn Burkholder was named earlier this week as the PSAC West Coach of the Year, repeating the honor after also being recognized by her peers following the 2024 season.
 
JENKINS NAMED DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Slippery Rock defender Paige Jenkins was named earlier this week as the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year. She also picked up first team All-PSAC honors for the second year in a row. Jenkins was named to USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-America honors entering this spring and has led The Rock defense with 33 caused turnovers, 31 ground balls and 55 draw controls.
 
ROCK LEADS PSAC WEST WITH EIGHT ON ALL-PSAC TEAM
Slippery Rock led all schools in the PSAC West with eight selections to the All-PSAC team this spring, trying the 2024 roster for the most in a single-season in program history. The Rock had six first team honorees with attackers Grace Rotter and Reagan Richeson, middies Leora Owings and Isabella Buono and defenders Paige Jenkins and Nicole Masi. Defender Amelia Nitsche and attacker Abby Fink picked up second team honors.
 
ROCK WINNING WITH DEFENSE
The Rock have allowed double-digit goals just five times this year and enter this weekend ranked No. 4 among all teams in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 7.44 goals per game. SRU is ninth in Division II in scoring margin at +7.63 goals per game, ranks third nationally in caused turnovers with 13.63 per game and ranks 13th nationally with 22.44 ground balls per game.
 
VETERAN DEFENSIVE CORE LEADING THE WAY
Slippery Rock boasts a veteran defensive core that is among the best in the region, led by preseason All-American Paige Jenkins. Jenkins has tallied 33 caused turnovers in the last 14 games and also ranks third on the team with 55 draw controls and fifth on the team with 31 ground balls. Nicole Masi has 28 caused turnovers and 37 ground balls, while Amelia Nitsche has 19 caused turnovers and is tied with Masi for the team lead with 37 ground balls. Hailey Ohlsen has six caused turnovers and 13 ground balls and McKenzie Murphy has six caused turnovers and 11 ground balls. Masi (75), Ohlsen (66), Nitsche (66), Jenkins (55) and midfielder Leora Owings (54) all rank in the top 20 all-time at SRU in career caused turnovers.
 
WE SHOOT A LOT
Slippery Rock enters this weekend ranked No. 3 in Division II in shots with an average of 36.88 shots per game. The Rock are sixth in the nation in shots on goal per game at 26.13, but rank 84th in shooting percentage with goals coming on 40.8 percent of total shots. SRU is 16th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 15.06 goals per game. That tally is the best in the PSAC West and ranks second in the PSAC behind only West Chester at 19.19 goals per game.
 
SEVEN TEAMS WITH ONE OR FEWER LOSSES
Entering this weekend, Slippery Rock is one of just seven teams in the country to have one or fewer losses. Only one unbeaten team remains in Division II with 16-0 West Chester yet to lose a game. The Rock have the second-best record in the PSAC at 15-1 and are the only other team in the PSAC with one or fewer losses. SRU's .938 winning percentage ranks sixth in the country.
 
THREE PLAYERS WITH 40 GOALS, 50 POINTS
For just the second time in program history, Slippery Rock has three players that have reached 40 goals and 50 points in the same season. Grace Rotter (40g, 22a, 62 pts), Reagan Richeson (42g, 11a, 53 pts) and Abby Fink (40g, 10a, 50 pts) were all named to the All-PSAC team as attackers this spring. They join the 2015 trio of Erin Wilcox (50), Paige Costantino (49) and Kaytlin Callaghan (46) as the only other set of three teammates to reach 40 goals in the same season at The Rock.
 
FIVE PLAYERS WITH 30+ POINTS
Slippery Rock enters the weekend with five players with at least 32 total points on the year. Grace Rotter leads the way with 40 goals and 22 assists for 62 points, which ranks 11th in SRU single-season scoring. Reagan Richeson has a team-high 42 goals to go along with 11 assists for 53 points, while Abby Fink has 40 goals and 10 assists for 50 points to give SRU three players with at least 50 points. Leora Owings has 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points and Isabella Buono has 19 goals and 13 assists for 32 points.
 
FIVE MORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
The Rock also has five more players with at least 10 points to give the team 10 players in double figures on the year. Krysta Frankowski (12g, 9a), Ava Dossier (10g, 10a), Eryn Little (19g, 1a), Maddie Blazey (6g, 6a) and Erin Melcher (5g, 5a) round out the players with at least 10 points.
 
21 DIFFERENT POINT SCORERS
21 total players have tallied at least one point on the year, including nine that average at least one point per game. Other scorers this year include Sydney Ulmer (5g, 3a), Ella Koslowski (4g, 3a), Laurelle Surette (5g, 1a), Cadyn Eismann (5g), Claire Petty (1g, 1a), Lauren Petty (2g), Shannon Von Kaenel (1g, 1a), Paige Jenkins (1g, 1a), Brooke Walters (1g), Hailey Ohlsen (1g), and Victoria Ziemba (1a).
 
OWINGS STUFFING THE STAT SHEET
Midfielder Leora Owings ranks fourth on the team in scoring and leads The Rock in draw controls with 99, which ranks sixth all-time in single-season history at SRU. She is also third on the team and leads all midfielders with 29 caused turnovers and is third on the team with 34 ground balls. Owings also owns the highest shooting percentage on the team among players with at least 25 shots, putting 78.0. percent of her shots on target.
 
ROTTER SHINES IN FIRST SEASON AT SRU
With the closure of Notre Dame College after the 2024 spring semester, Slippery Rock was able to add junior transfer Grace Rotter in the offseason. Rotter has improved steadily throughout her first season at The Rock and has become one of the better scorers in the league, leading SRU with 62 points on 40 goals and 22 assists. She has also twice been named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week and has 23 caused turnovers to lead all attackers. Rotter's 62 points rank 11th in SRU single-season history and her 22 assists rank sixth.
 
GOALIE NUMBERS
Goalie Lily Ventresca ranks first in the PSAC and third in the nation in goals against average, allowing 7.66 goals per 60 minutes of action. She is a perfect 14-0 on the season and needs one more win to tie the SRU single-season wins record of 15. Ava Drath is allowing 6.58 goals against average, but has not played enough minutes to qualify for the NCAA stats leaderboard. The goalies have combined for a 7.42 goals against average and a .425 save percentage.
 
DRAW SPECIALIST
Midfielder Shannon Von Kaenel has stepped into the draw specialist role this year and has helped SRU to post a 248-164 overall advantage in draw controls on the year. She personally has 70 draw controls to rank second on the team and eighth in SRU single-season history. The Rock lead the PSAC and rank 10th in Division II in draw control percentage, winning 60.2 percent of all draws taken.
 
SRU STATS BREAKDOWN
Slippery Rock is outscoring opponents 241-119 and outshooting the opposition 590-268 through 16 games. The Rock have posted advantages of 248-164 in draw controls, 359-284 in ground balls and 218-161 in caused turnovers. SRU is clearing the defensive zone at an 85.5 percent efficiency (206-of-241) while holding opponents to 64.2 percent on the clear (188-of-293).
 
CAREER GAMES STARTED
Amelia Nitsche enters this weekend with 68 career starts under her belt, which is tied with Emma VanDenburg (2009-12) for the most starts in program history. If Nitsche starts Friday, it will be her 69th consecutive game started and will break the program record.
 
SRU PLAYERS IN TOP 20 IN CAREER RECORD BOOK
• Amelia Nitsche – 68 games started (No. 1 at SRU – needs 1 to for solo No. 1)
• Leora Owings – 129 draw controls (No. 9 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 8)
• Paige Jenkins – 121 draw controls (No. 10 at SRU – needs 8 to move up to No. 9)
• Nicole Masi – 75 caused turnovers (No. 10 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 8)
• Krysta Frankowski – 40 assists (No. 10 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 9)
• Hailey Ohlsen – 60 games started (No. 11 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 10)
• Hailey Ohlsen – 66 caused turnovers (No. 12 at SRU – needs 9 to move up to No. 10)
• Amelia Nitsche – 66 caused turnovers (No. 12 at SRU – needs 9 to move up to No. 10)
• Reagan Richeson – 81 goals (No. 14 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 13)
• Nicole Masi – 107 ground balls (No. 16 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 14)
• Leora Owings – 26 assists (No. 18 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 17)
• Paige Jenkins – 55 caused turnovers (No. 19 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 18)
• Leora Owings – 54 caused turnovers (No. 20 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 19)
• Grace Rotter – 22 assists (No. 20 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 19)
• Hailey Ohlsen – 98 ground balls (No. 21 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 20)
 
MILESTONE WATCH
• Paige Jenkins: 4 DC away from 125
• Nicole Masi: 25 CT away from 100
• Nicole Masi: 18 GB away from 125
• Amelia Nitsche: 9 CT away from 75
• Amelia Nitsche: 5 GB away from 100
• Hailey Ohlsen: 2 GB away from 100
• Hailey Ohlsen: 9 CT away from 75
• Leora Owings: 21 CT away from 75
• Leora Owings: 21 DC away from 150
• Reagan Richeson: 4 PTS away from 100
 
EAST STROUDSBURG PRIMER
• Overall Record: 14-4
• PSAC Record: 10-2
• Home Record: 7-2
• Away Record: 6-2
• Neutral Site Record: 1-0
• Streak: W7
• Last Five Games: 5-0
• Head Coach: Xeni Barakos-Yoder (10th season, East Stroudsburg '11)  |  Record: 129-40
 
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
ESU is 14-4 overall with all four losses coming against teams that are currently ranked in the top 12 of the IWLCA national rankings, including a pair of losses to No. 2 West Chester and losses to No. 10 Adelphia and No. 12 Slippery Rock. The Warriors are riding a seven-game win streak and have not lost since a 13-11 home loss to West Chester back on April 2.
 
ESU is outscoring opponents 263-169 and outshooting the opposition 547-499. The Warriors have also put up advantages of 247-245 in draw controls and 292-291 in ground balls while being nearly level with opponents this year in draws, ground balls and shots. The biggest advantage ESU has had over opponents this year has been a difference in goalkeeping, where Warrior goalie Abby Simonetti has a .568 save percentage to lead all goalies in the nation and opponents have combined for a .360 save percentage against ESU. Simonetti, the PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year, also ranks No. 1 in the country in total saves (216) and carries a 9.39 goals against average despite ESU allowing 499 total shots (27.72 per game).
 
PSAC East Freshman of the Year Sadie Kauffman leads the team in scoring by a wide margin with an astounding 87 goals and 25 assists for 112 points. She also leads the team with 89 draw controls and has 20 caused turnovers. Ariana Tucci is second in scoring with 49 goals and 18 assists for 67 points and Lauren Hallman (37g, 14a) gives the Warriors three players with at least 50 points. Molly Atwell paces the defense with 38 caused turnovers and 22 ground balls.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's semifinal will play in the PSAC title game Sunday at noon at West Chester against the winner of the first semifinal between Seton Hill and West Chester.
 
NCAA SELECTION SHOW
Slippery Rock is likely to hear its named called on the NCAA Selection Show for the first time in program history when the NCAA announces the national tournament field Sunday evening at 8:30 p.m. at ncaa.com.




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