SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The top two women's lacrosse teams in the Atlantic Region will meet Saturday in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals when No. 2 seed Slippery Rock University travels to No. 1 seed West Chester University for a 3 p.m. game at Vonnie Gros Field.
 
GAME INFORMATION
•  NCAA Division II Tournament Bracket
•  Facility: Vonnie Gros Field  |  West Chester University
•  Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania
•  Game Time: 3 p.m.
•  Tickets: CASH ONLY - $10 for adults / $5 students K-12
 
LIVE COVERAGE
•  Live Stats: LINK
•  Live Video: LINK
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU Athletic Communication Office.
 • Search for "Rock Athletics Digital Network" in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices.
* This game will be produced by West Chester's broadcast provider, SFBN.
 
GAME 20 DETAILS
• Opponent: No. 2 West Chester University
• Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025  |  3 p.m.
• Location: Vonnie Gros Field  |  West Chester, Pa.
• All-Time Series: West Chester leads 17-0
• Current Streak: West Chester +17
• Last Meeting: May 4, 2025 at West Chester – WCU won 17-11
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Slippery Rock closed the regular season ranked seventh the USA Lacrosse Magazine national poll and No. 12 in the IWLCA coaches poll. West Chester, which is the only undefeated team in the nation, is No. 1 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll and No. 2 in the IWLCA coaches poll.
 
ATLANTIC REGION FINAL
Saturday's game will determine the Atlantic Region champion and send the winner to the national semifinals next Thursday in Virigina. West Chester is looking to return to the semifinals for the second time in the last three years and the first time since 2023 after falling in the regional final last spring to East Stroudsburg. The Golden Rams have reached the National Championship game 11 times since 2001 and have won two national titles in that stretch with wins in 2002 and 2008. Slippery Rock is making its first appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament and picked up its first-ever NCAA postseason victory last week in the second round.
 
ALL CHALK IN THE NATIONAL QUARTERFINALS
All four regional title games Saturday will feature the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds after there were no upsets in the round of 16 last weekend. The East Region title game includes No. 1 seed Adelphi and No. 2 seed Pace. The Midwest Region will be decided between No. 1 seed Maryville and No. 2 seed Indianapolis and the South Region title game features defending champion No. 1 Tampa and No. 2 Florida Southern.
 
RECORDS
Slippery Rock is now 17-2 overall, setting a program record for wins in a single season. The Rock went 10-0 in the PSAC West to claim the division crown this year and have lost just two games this year, both on the road at nationally ranked opponents. West Chester is the lone Division II team that has yet to lose a game in 2025 and enters this weekend with a 19-0 record. The Golden Rams went 12-0 in the PSAC East and then knocked off SRU 17-11 in the PSAC title game on their home field May 4.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES  |  Game-by-Game Scores
West Chester is a perfect 17-0 all-time against Slippery Rock dating back to 1983. The Golden Rams have been ranked in the top 10 eight times out of the previous 17 meetings, including each of the last two years when WCU defeated Slippery Rock in the PSAC Tournament. WCU has won by six or more goals in 14 of the 17 meetings with the closest game being a double overtime 13-12 win at home against SRU in 2015.
 
LAST MEETING – May 4, 2025  |  Box Score
West Chester outscored Slippery Rock 9-5 in the second half to pull away for a 17-11 win in a PSAC title game that featured torrential rain and slick turf conditions back on May 4. The Rock outshot the Golden Rams through three quarters before a surge in the fourth quarter led to WCU finishing with a 34-27 advantage in total shots. SRU put up a 20-12 edge in draw controls, while West Chester managed a 22-13 advantage in ground balls. The Rock led 6-4 early in the second quarter and trailed just 8-7 early in the third quarter before an 8-2 West Chester run sealed the game. The Rams scored seven free position goals and took advantage of numerous SRU penalties, tallying five woman-up goals in a game that featured 67 total fouls and 13 cards.
 
Isabella Buono scored five goals to pace the SRU attack, while Eryn Little added a hat trick and Leora Owings pulled down a game-high 16 draw controls. SRU played two goalies in the game with starter Ava Drath allowing 10 goals and recording two saves. Lily Ventresca allowed seven goals and made four saves. West Chester was led by Keri Barnett with four goals and two assists and Madeline Edinger with five goals. Sydney Wasdick also tallied four goals. Hannah Cornelius made a season-high eight saves in goal to earn the win.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Overall Record: 17-2
• PSAC Record: 10-0
• Home Record: 6-0
• Away Record: 9-2
• Neutral Record: 1-0
• Streak: W1
• Last Five Games: 4-1
• Head Coach: Taryn Burkholder (4th season, Niagara '12)  |  Record: 52-20
 
ROAD WARRIORS AS HIGHER SEED
Despite being the higher seed in the tournament, Slippery Rock had to travel to No. 3 seed East Stroudsburg for the second round last week, marking the second road game of the season at ESU and the third meeting against the Warriors with all three on the eastern side of the state. The Rock's facility was unavailable due to hosting the PSAC Track & Field Championships.
 
ROCK TAKES DOWN ESU FOR THIRD TIME
Slippery Rock put the clamps on a high-scoring East Stroudsburg offense last week, limiting the Warriors to six goals for the second time in three meetings this year on the way to earning a 9-6 win last Saturday in the second round of the tournament. It marked the first NCAA playoff win in program history and gave SRU a third win over ESU this season. The Rock outshot the Warriors 30-20 and finished with an 11-8 advantage in draw controls. Abby Fink netted a hat trick with Isabella Buono and Grace Rotter each scoring two goals and Leora Owings adding one goal and two assists. Lily Ventresca made four saves and allowed six goals in the win.
 
FOURTH STRAIGHT 10-WIN SEASON
Slippery Rock has locked up a 10-win season to mark its fourth straight 10-win year, 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.
 
SINGLE-SEASON WINS RECORD
Slippery Rock's NCAA Tournament win over East Stroudsburg marked the team's 17th victory of its 2025 campaign, setting a new program single-season record. SRU broke its previous win mark set last season when The Rock went 15-4. The 32 wins over the last two seasons are the best two-year stretch in school history.
 
FOUR NAMED TO ALL-REGION TEAM
The Rock had a program record four players named to All-Region honors when the IWLCA announced the All-Region team this week. Defender Paige Jenkins, midfielder Leora Owings and attacker Grace Rotter were named to the first time, while defender Nicole Masi was named to second team honors. Jenkins and Masi are now two-time All-Region honorees, while Owings and Rotter were named to their first All-Region squad.

PSAC POSTSEASON HONORS
Slippery Rock took home two of the major awards in the PSAC West this year with head coach Taryn Burkholder earning her second straight Coach of the Year award and defender Paige Jenkins earning the Defensive Player of the Year award. The Rock also landed eight total players on the All-PSAC team to tie the program record. First team selections included defenders Jenkins and Nicole Masi, midfielders Leora Owings and Isabella Buono and attackers Grace Rotter and Reagan Richeson. Defender Amelia Nitsche and attacker Abby Fink picked up second team honors.
 
ROCK WINNING WITH DEFENSE
The Rock have allowed double-digit goals just seven times this year and enter Saturday ranked No. 7 among all teams in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 8.05 goals per game. SRU is 13th in Division II in scoring margin at +6.32 goals per game, ranks sixth nationally in caused turnovers with 13.32 per game and ranks 21st nationally with 21.16 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 41 caused turnovers and also ranks third on the team with 60 draw controls and fourth on the team with 36 ground balls. Nicole Masi has 33 caused turnovers and 38 ground balls, while Amelia Nitsche has 22 caused turnovers and leads the team with 40 ground balls. Hailey Ohlsen has six caused turnovers and 13 ground balls and McKenzie Murphy has nine caused turnovers and 14 ground balls. Masi (80), Nitsche (69), Ohlsen (66), Jenkins (63) and midfielder Leora Owings (55) 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. 8 in Division II in shots with an average of 35.11 per game. The Rock are 12th in the nation in shots on goal per game at 25.00, but rank 84th in shooting percentage with goals coming on 40.9 percent of total shots. SRU is 23rd in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 14.37 goals per game. That tally is the best in the PSAC West and ranks second in the PSAC behind only West Chester at 18.68 goals per game.
 
SEVEN TEAMS WITH TWO OR FEWER LOSSES
Entering this weekend, Slippery Rock is one of just seven teams in the country to have two or fewer losses. Only one unbeaten team remains in Division II with 19-0 West Chester yet to lose a game. The Rock have the second-best record in the Atlantic Region at 17-2 and are the only other team in the PSAC with two or fewer losses. SRU's .895 winning percentage ranks sixth in the country. Of the six teams with two or fewer losses, only four (West Chester, Tampa, Florida Southern, Slippery Rock) are still alive in the NCAA Tournament.
 
HIGHEST SCORING TRIO IN PROGRAM HISTORY
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 (45g, 23a, 68 pts), Reagan Richeson (48g, 11a, 59 pts) and Abby Fink (46g, 12a, 58 pts) were all named to the All-PSAC team as attackers this spring. They are the first trio of players in program history to have at least 58 points in the same season and 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 40+ POINTS
Slippery Rock enters the weekend with five players with at least 40 total points on the year. Grace Rotter leads the way with 45 goals and 23 assists for 68 points, which ranks fifth in SRU single-season scoring. Reagan Richeson has a team-high 48 goals to go along with 11 assists for 59 points, while Abby Fink has 46 goals and 12 assists for 58 points to give SRU three players with at least 50 points. Leora Owings has 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points and Isabella Buono has 27 goals and 13 assists for 40 points.
 
FIVE MORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
The Rock also has five more players with at least 11 points to give the team 10 players in double figures on the year. Eryn Little (23g, 1a), Krysta Frankowski (13g, 10a), Ava Dossier (11g, 10a), Maddie Blazey (6g, 6a) and Erin Melcher (5g, 6a) round out the players with at least 11 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 125, which ranks fourth all-time in single-season history at SRU. She is also third on the team and leads all midfielders or attackers with 30 caused turnovers and is second on the team with 38 ground balls. Owings also owns the highest shooting percentage on the team among players with at least 30 shots, putting 78.2. 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 region, leading SRU with 68 points on 45 goals and 23 assists. She has also twice been named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week and has 25 caused turnovers to lead all attackers. Rotter's 68 points are tied for fifth in SRU single-season history and her 23 assists are also tied for fifth.
 
GOALIE NUMBERS
Goalie Lily Ventresca ranks first in the PSAC and fourth in the nation in goals against average, allowing 8.10 goals per 60 minutes of action. She is a perfect 15-0 on the season and has tied the SRU single-season record for goalie wins, matching the 15 by Gillian O'Rourke in 2024. Ventresca has a .409 save percentage on the year. Ava Drath is 2-2 with a 7.84 goals against average and a .391 save percentage, but has not played enough minutes to qualify for the NCAA stats leaderboard. The goalies have combined for an 8.03 goals against average and a .405 save percentage.
 
DRAW SPECIALIST
Midfielder Shannon Von Kaenel has stepped into the draw specialist role this year and has helped SRU to post a 289-199 overall advantage in draw controls on the year. She personally has 76 draw controls to rank second on the team and eighth in SRU single-season history. The Rock lead the PSAC and rank 11th in Division II in draw control percentage, winning 59.2 percent of all draws taken.
 
SRU STATS BREAKDOWN
Slippery Rock is outscoring opponents 273-153 and outshooting the opposition 667-350 through 19 games. The Rock have posted advantages of 289-199 in draw controls, 402-331 in ground balls and 253-191 in caused turnovers. SRU is clearing the defensive zone at an 84.6 percent efficiency (242-of-286) while holding opponents to 66.9 percent on the clear (230-of-344).
 
CAREER GAMES STARTED
Amelia Nitsche enters this weekend with 71 career starts under her belt, which is the most starts in program history. She passed Emma VanDenburg's 68 (2009-12) by starting against ESU and West Chester in the PSAC Tournament and is the only Rock women's lacrosse player in history to start 70 games in their career. Nitsche has logged more than 4,000 minutes on the field and is the only player at SRU since accurate minutes were kept to reach 4,000 minutes on the field.
 
SRU PLAYERS IN TOP 20 IN CAREER RECORD BOOK
• Amelia Nitsche – 71 games started and games played (No. 1 at SRU)
• Leora Owings – 155 draw controls (No. 5 at SRU – needs 28 to move up to No. 4)
• Hailey Ohlsen – 67 games played (No. 7 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 3)
• Nicole Masi – 80 caused turnovers (No. 8 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 7)
• Krysta Frankowski – 41 assists (No. 10 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 9)
• Paige Jenkins – 126 draw controls (No. 10 at SRU – needs 6 to move up to No. 9)
• Amelia Nitsche – 69 caused turnovers (No. 12 at SRU – needs 6 to move up to No. 11)
• Hailey Ohlsen – 66 caused turnovers (No. 13 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 12)
• Reagan Richeson – 87 goals (No. 13 at SRU – needs 4 to move up to No. 12)
• Shannon Von Kaenel – 79 draw controls (No. 15 at SRU – needs 18 to move up to No. 14)
• Paige Jenkins – 63 caused turnovers (No. 15 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 14)
• Nicole Masi – 108 ground balls (No. 16 at SRU – needs 9 to move up to No. 14)
• Nicole Masi – 64 games played (No. 16 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 14)
• Leora Owings – 28 assists (No. 17 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 16)
• Reagan Richeson – 102 points (No. 19 at SRU – needs 5 to move up to No. 17)
• Leora Owings – 55 caused turnovers (No. 20 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 19)
 
MILESTONE WATCH
• Paige Jenkins: 24 DC away from 150
• Nicole Masi: 20 CT away from 100
• Nicole Masi: 17 GB away from 125
• Amelia Nitsche: 6 CT away from 75
• Amelia Nitsche: 2 GB away from 100
• Hailey Ohlsen: 2 GB away from 100
• Hailey Ohlsen: 9 CT away from 75
• Leora Owings: 20 CT away from 75
• Leora Owings: 20 DC away from 175
• Leora Owings: 12 PTS away from 75
• Reagan Richeson: 23 PTS away from 125
• Reagan Richeson: 13 goals away from 100
 
WEST CHESTER PRIMER
• Overall Record: 19-0
• PSAC Record: 12-0
• Home Record: 13-0
• Away Record: 6-0
• Streak: W19
• Last Five Games: 5-0
• Head Coach: Ginny Martino (28th season, UMass '88)  |  Record: 425-83
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN RAMS
West Chester remains perfect on the year at 19-0 and is looking for a return to the national semifinals for the second time in the last three seasons and the first time since 2023. WCU is the No. 1 scoring offense in the region and is outscoring opponents 355-176 and outshooting the opposition 738-369. The Rams have also posted advantages of 333-260 in draw controls, 447-309 in ground balls and 261-155 in caused turnovers.
 
The PSAC East Player of the Year Keri Barnett leads the team and is likely to leave the PSAC as the all-time leading scorer in conference history. She has tallied 111 goals to go with 31 assists for 142 points this year. She also has 77 draw controls, 56 caused turnovers and 42 ground balls. Sydney Wasdick has 64 goals and seven assists for 71 points while Kendall Fortune (46g, 16a) and Lila McMahon Skates (33g, 29a) each have 62 points. PSAC Championship game MVP Madeline Edinger (34g, 16a) gives the Rams five players with 50 points.
 
Kendall DiCamillo paces the defense with 36 caused turnovers and 60 ground balls. Hannah Cornelius is 13-0 in goal with a 9.49 goals against average and a .387 save percentage. She played her best game of the season against SRU in the PSAC title game with eight saves. Morgan Koons is 6-0 with an 8.93 goals against average and a .402 save percentage.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of this game will advance to the national semifinals next Thursday at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The four regional champions will be reseeded after this round with the semifinal matchups being announced by the NCAA following the quarterfinals. The National Championship game is set for next Saturday, May 24, at Kerr Stadium.




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