SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University will host both semifinal games in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament Friday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium with No. 7 SRU facing No. 10 West Chester at 1 p.m. and No. 4 East Stroudsburg facing No. 15 Kutztown at 4 p.m.
TICKETS
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CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS
• Adults - $12
• Students K-12 - $7
• Students from PSAC Schools – FREE with student ID
• NOTE: Tickets for Friday will cover admission to BOTH semifinal games for one price. There are no individual game tickets. All ticket sales will take place online and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to allow for smooth entry into the stadium. There will no NO CASH sales at the gate. There will be SRU staff members at the gate to assist with mobile ticket purchasing at the game. All SRU or other PSAC students planning to attend do not need to purchase tickets in advance, but will need to bring a current student ID to the gate to receive free admission.
GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's games. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit
rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
SPECTATOR INFO
There will be no parking charges for this game. Fans are reminded that there are
NO PETS allowed in any SRU athletics facilities. Please do not bring dogs or any other pets to the game. You will be asked to remove your pet from the facility. Parking is available on a first-come basis in the lots immediately surrounding the stadium.
LIVE COVERAGE
• Live Stats:
LINK
• Live Video: LINK
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch the games 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.
PSAC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS (Tuesday, April 28)
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Bracket
• West No. 1 Slippery Rock defeated East No. 4 Shippensburg - 17-8
• East No. 1 East Stroudsburg defeated West No. 4 Lock Haven - 21-6
• East No. 2 West Chester defeated West No. 3 IUP - 20-6
• East No. 3 Kutztown defeated West No. 2 Seton Hill - 19-6
PSAC SEMIFINALS (Friday, May 1)
• 1 p.m. - No. 1 Slippery Rock vs. No. 2 West Chester
• 4 p.m. - No. 1 East Stroudsburg vs. No. 3 Kutztown
PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP (Sunday, May 3 at 1 p.m.)
• Winners of Friday's semifinal games
• Winner of the title game gets the NCAA automatic bid
GAME 19 DETAILS
• Opponent: West Chester University
• Date: Friday, May 1, 2026 | 1 p.m.
• Location: Mihalik-Thompson Stadium | Slippery Rock, Pa.
• All-Time Series: West Chester leads 17-2
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +2
• Last Meeting: Feb 21, 2026 – SRU won 13-12
NATIONAL RANKINGS | IWLCA Poll | USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll
Slippery Rock held steady at No. 7 in the IWLCA rankings and No. 3 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings this week. West Chester moved up one spot in both polls this week to No. 10 in the IWLCA rankings and No. 7 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings.
BACK-TO-BACK WEST CHAMPS
Slippery Rock went 10-0 in the PSAC West to lock up a second straight outright PSAC West title after winning the first title for the program in the modern era last spring. The Rock have won 24 straight games in the PSAC West dating back to 2024.
WE'VE COME A LONG WAY IN 19 SEASONS
Slippery Rock had a women's lacrosse team from 1976-91 before dropping the program. The Rock reinstated the sport as a Division II varsity team in 2007 and went winless for the first two seasons (0-32 combined in 2007 and 2008) before beginning a slow build in 2009 that has seen the program become one of the elite Division II programs in the country. SRU has won 10 or more games in five straight seasons and has won 15 or more games in three straight seasons.
FIRST UNDEFEATED SRU WOMEN'S TEAM IN MODERN ERA
This year's lacrosse team is the only women's team in the modern era (current NCAA varsity teams) of SRU Athletics to post an undefeated regular season. The other women's teams in SRU history to have unbeaten regular seasons included the discontinued sports of swimming and water polo and a handful of teams from before Title IX and the inclusion of women's sports in the NCAA. The Rock football team is the most recent men's team at SRU to go undefeated in the regular season after posting 10-0 records in both 2019 and 2023.
SRU IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
Slippery Rock is playing in the PSAC Tournament for the third year in a row and just the fifth time since restarting the sport in 2007. The Rock made the tournament in 2017 and 2018, but lost in the quarterfinals each year. SRU picked up its first win in the tournament in 2024 before falling to West Chester in the semifinals. The Rock earned an overtime win over East Stroudsburg in the semifinals in 2025 before falling to West Chester in the title game last spring. SRU has never hosted a round later than the quarterfinals and is still looking for its first PSAC title.
WEST CHESTER IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
West Chester is the runaway dominant program in women's lacrosse history in the PSAC. The Golden Rams have won more than three times as many championships as any other team in the league with 27 titles to their name. Lock Haven is second all-time with eight titles. West Chester has won each of the last three championships and six of the last seven titles dating back to 2018. The Rams are in the semifinals for the 22nd straight season and have made the semis every year since the PSAC expanded the playoff field in 2004. WCU is 17-4 all-time in the PSAC semifinals.
EAST HAS BEEN DOMINANT IN PSAC TOURNEY
The PSAC Eastern Division has claimed each of the last eight PSAC titles dating back to 2017. The most recent Western Division champion was Mercyhurst in 2016 and the most recent current team still in the Western Division to win was Lock Haven in 2015. West Chester is the three-time defending champion and has won six of the last eight titles, while East Stroudsburg won in 2022 and 2017.
RECORDS
Slippery Rock improved to 18-0 with a 17-8 win over Shippensburg in the PSAC quarterfinals Tuesday. The Rock went a perfect 10-0 in the PSAC West this spring. West Chester improved to 15-3 overall with a dominant 20-6 win over IUP in the PSAC quarterfinals Tuesday. The Golden Rams were 10-2 in the PSAC East this year. All three of their losses have come to two of the only three undefeated teams in the country with two losses to East Stroudsburg, including one in overtime, and one loss to Slippery Rock. Two of those three losses came by just one goal, 13-12 at home against SRU and 14-13 in OT at home against ESU.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH WEST CHESTER | Game-by-Game Scores
West Chester owns a 17-2 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1983. The Golden Rams won the first 17 straight meetings in the series until Slippery Rock snapped that streak and upset undefeated No. 1 seed West Chester in the NCAA quarterfinals 16-13 last May to win the regional title and hand the Rams their only loss of the 2025 season. The Rock then picked up a second straight win in the series with a 13-12 win on the road at No. 5 West Chester back in February in what was the second game of the year for SRU and the first game of the year for West Chester. This will mark the 14th straight meeting in the series where West Chester is ranked and the sixth straight meeting where West Chester is ranked in the top 10.
LAST MEETING WITH WEST CHESTER | Box Score
No. 11 Slippery Rock outscored No. 5 West Chester 4-1 in the fourth quarter to erase a three-goal halftime deficit and complete a 13-12 comeback upset win at West Chester back on February 21. The Rock trailed 8-5 at halftime and 12-10 with 10 minutes to play before shutting the Rams out for the final 10:12 and closing the game on a 3-0 run to earn the comeback win, snapping a streak of 60 straight regular season wins by WCU that stretched back to 2022. West Chester finished the game with advantages of 27-22 in total shots and 15-14 in ground balls. SRU put up an 18-10 advantage in draw controls and was better on the clear, going 10-of-14 while limiting the Rams to 8-of-13.
Grace Rotter led the attack for SRU with five points on three goals and two assists.
Reagan Richeson tallied four goals and
Isabella Buono scored two goals and handed out two assists.
Paige Jenkins caused three turnovers and grabbed four ground balls and
Shannon Von Kaenel snagged 11 draw controls. West Chester got five points from both Lila McMahon-Skates (3g, 2a) and Madeline Edinger (4g, 1a). Montana Jones led the defense with six caused turnovers. Both teams played two goalies in the game.
Lily Ventresca made two saves and allowed 10 goals for SRU before
Ava Drath earned the win, playing the final 20:13 and allowing two goals with one save. Hannah Cornelius took the loss for West Chester, allowing eight goals with no saves. Morgan Koons made three saves and allowed five goals.
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Overall Record: 18-0
• PSAC Record: 10-0
• Home Record: 9-0
• Away Record: 9-0
• Streak: W18
• Last Five Games: 5-0
• Head Coach: Taryn Burkholder (5th season, Niagara '12) | Record: 71-21
ALL-PSAC HONOREES
Slippery Rock landed a program record-tying eight players on the All-PSAC team announced this week and took home three of the four major awards in the Western Division. Head coach
Taryn Burkholder was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the third straight season, defender
Paige Jenkins was named the Defensive Athlete of the Year for the second straight season and defender
Aleigha Dubroc was named the Freshman of the Year. Jenkins was joined in earning first team honors by attackers
Reagan Richeson and
Grace Rotter and midfielder
Isabella Buono. All four of those were repeat first team honorees. Attacker
Abby Fink repeated as a second team selection to join Dubroc and fellow freshman defender
Violet Freebody on the second team.
COACHES TAKING PROGRAM TO NEW HEIGHTS
Now in their fifth season leading the program, head coach
Taryn Burkholder and assistant coach
Jordan Anderson have completely transformed the SRU lacrosse program. The duo have led SRU to five straight seasons with 10 or more wins for the first time in program history and three straight seasons with 15 or more wins, setting program records for single-season wins in each of the last three years. Burkholder has been named the PSAC West Coach of the Year in each of the last three seasons and SRU was honored as the Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year in both 2024 and 2025. Anderson was also named the Division II national Assistant Coach of the Year in 2025. Burkholder is 71-21 since taking over as head coach prior to the 2022 season.
REGULAR SEASON WINNING STREAK
Slippery Rock closed out the regular season with its 27th straight regular season win and went 32-1 in the regular season over the last two years. The lone loss in that stretch was a 10-9 overtime loss at Lander on March 15, 2025. The only other two losses SRU has suffered since the opening of last season were in the 2025 PSAC title game last spring to No. 2 West Chester, which SRU avenged in the regional title game two weeks later, and in the 2025 national semifinals to No. 7 Adelphi. The Rock are 36-3 overall since the start of 2025.
HOME WINNING STREAK
Slippery Rock has won its last 21 straight home games and has the second longest active home winning streak in the nation, trailing only the 24 straight home wins by Florida Southern. The Rock are 23-1 at home over the last three seasons with the only loss during that stretch coming against Seton Hill March 23, 2024.
THREE UNBEATENS LEFT IN DIVISION II
Slippery Rock enters the semifinals as one of just three Division II teams that are still undefeated on the year. The Rock and East Division top seed East Stroudsburg (18-0) are the only two teams in the Atlantic Region that have yet to lose a game. The only other undefeated team across the nation is No. 1 Flagler (Fla.) (19-0). Flagler already won the Gulf South Tournament and will be idle for two full weeks before playing its first NCAA Playoff game.
ROCK DOMINANT IN PSAC WEST THIS SPRING
Slippery Rock was dominant in its 10 games against the PSAC West this season, putting up a 10-0 record and outscoring the division 184-39 in those 10 games. The average margin of victory for SRU in the PSAC West this spring was +14.5 goals per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock scored seven fourth quarter goals to pull away for a 17-8 win over Shippensburg in the PSAC quarterfinals Tuesday. The Rock fired off the most shots Shippensburg faced all year and finished with advantages of 43-23 in shots, 28-16 in shots on goal and 21-6 in draw controls.
Grace Rotter scored six goals,
Reagan Richeson scored four goals and handed out one assist and
Isabella Buono scored three goals and handed out one assist.
Shannon Von Kaenel pulled down 14 draw controls and
Lily Ventresca made eight saves in goal.
RICHESON SETS SINGLE-SEASON GOAL RECORD
Attacker
Reagan Richeson broke the SRU single-season record for goals in the quarterfinal game and now has 63 goals on the year, topping the former program record of 61 goals that was set by Amy Halls in 2011. Ironically enough, Richeson and Halls actually went to the same high school outside of Columbus, Ohio (Olentangy) and Halls briefly coached Richeson. Halls was the first All-American player for the lacrosse program and was inducted into the Rock Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.
VENTRESCA SETS SINGLE-SEASON WINS RECORD
Goalie
Lily Ventresca broke her own SRU single-season record for wins in the quarterfinal round when she won her 17th game of the season earlier this week to improve to 17-0. She set the former record of 16 wins when she went 16-1 last spring. In two seasons as The Rock's starter, Ventresca owns a 33-1 record.
JENKINS ADDS TO SRU SINGLE-SEASON AND CAREER RECORDS
Defender
Paige Jenkins took over sole possession of first place in the SRU career record book for caused turnovers earlier this spring and is now up to 120, surpassing Tia Torchia's previous program record of 101. Jenkins has also already established a new single-season record for caused turnovers at SRU this spring. She enters this weekend with 56 caused turnovers, topping the former record of 46 that was set by Torchia in 2018. Jenkins led all field players in the PSAC in both caused turnovers (56) and ground balls (62) this spring.
TOUGH TO SCORE ON
Slippery Rock has limited its last 16 opponents to eight goals or fewer and has held opponents to single-digit scoring in 17 of 18 games this year. The Rock are outscoring their opponents 303-91 through 18 games, including 270-60 over the last 16 games, and outshooting opponents 675-278. The only opponent to reach 10 goals in a game this year was No. 5 West Chester back on Feb. 21 in a 13-12 SRU road win.
NATIONAL OFFENSIVE RANKS
Slippery Rock first among all programs in Division II in shots per game at 37.50 and third in the nation in shots on goal per game at 28.00. The Rock own the No. 9 scoring offense in the country at 16.83 goals per game and rank fifth in the nation in scoring margin at +11.78 goals per game. SRU also ranks 14th nationally in assists per game at 7.78.
NO. 1 DEFENSE IN THE COUNTRY
The Rock rank No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 5.06 goals per game. SRU ranks No. 2 nationally in caused turnovers per game at 15.39 and ranks sixth in ground balls per game at 22.94. Opponents have gone just 55.7 percent on clear attempts this year (180-of-323).
TOP 10 IN THE DRAW CIRCLE
Slippery Rock enters this game ranked ninth in the nation in draw control percentage (65.3%) and 14th in the nation in draw controls per game (15.67).
Shannon Von Kaenel and her PSAC leading 166 draw controls are the primary reason for that as she currently ranks fourth in the nation in draw controls per game at 9.22. She takes nearly all the draws and has helped The Rock to post an 282-150 advantage over opponents through 18 games.
Paige Jenkins has 56 draw controls and
Grace Rotter has 39 draw controls as that trio has 261 of the team's 282 draw wins.
BACK-TO-BACK 50-GOAL SEASONS
Attacker
Reagan Richeson has a team-high 63 goals this year to mark a new career-high and her second straight season with at least 50 goals.
Grace Rotter has also tallied 56 goals on the year after scoring 53 goals in 2025 to give The Rock two players with at least 50 goals in back-to-back seasons.
Isabella Buono (47) is just three goals shy of reaching the 50-goal milestone for the first time in her career.
FIVE PLAYERS WITH 48+ POINTS
Slippery Rock's enters this weekend with five players that have 48 or more points on the year, including three players with at least 61 points.
Grace Rotter leads all scorers with 78 points on 56 goals and 22 assists, despite missing one game.
Reagan Richeson leads the squad in goals (63) and is second in points (73) while also leading all attackers with 24 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls.
Isabella Buono has 61 points on 47 goals and 14 assists, while
Maddie Blazey has 49 points on 13 goals and a team-high 36 assists and
Abby Fink has 48 points on 35 goals and 13 assists.
SIX MORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Caitlyn Kelly leads all freshmen on the team in scoring with 21 goals and four assists to give SRU six players with at least 25 points.
Cadyn Eismann has 14 goals and four assists,
Ava Dossier has 10 goals and seven assists,
Shannon Von Kaenel has eight goals and seven assists,
Claire Petty has seven goals and seven assists and
Lauren Petty has seven goals and three assists to give The Rock a total of 11 players with double-digit points on the year.
LET'S TALK DEFENSE
The Rock rank first nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 5.06 goals per game. All-American
Paige Jenkins leads the defense with 56 caused turnovers and 62 ground balls. She ranks sixth in Division II in caused turnovers per game at 3.11. Freshman
Aleigha Dubroc has 28 caused turnovers and 28 ground balls, while fellow freshman
Violet Freebody has 29 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls. Attacker
Reagan Richeson has 24 caused turnovers and 31 balls and attacker
Grace Rotter has 22 caused turnovers and 25 ground balls to assist the defense, while
Mckenzie Murphy has 16 caused turnovers and
Gemma Sciarroni has 13 caused turnovers to round out the top defenders.
GOALIE PLAY
All-American goalie
Lily Ventresca has already broken her own SRU single-season record for goalie wins and is 17-0 on the year. She ranks first nationally in goals against average at 5.15.
Ava Drath has played 206 minutes in relief and is 1-0. Ventresca owns a 5.15 goals against average and a .486 save percentage, while Drath is allowing 4.65 goals against average with a .515 save percentage. The pair have a combined 5.06 goals against average and .492 save percentage on the season.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS IN SIGHT
• Caused Turnovers:
Paige Jenkins already has record at 56
• Goalie Wins:
Lily Ventresca already has record at 17
• Goals:
Reagan Richeson already has record at 63
• Goals:
Grace Rotter needs 7 to tie record of 63
• Assists:
Maddie Blazey needs 7 to tie record of 43
• Points:
Grace Rotter needs 10 to tie record of 88
FOURSOME MOVES INTO TOP FIVE ALL-TIME AT SRU
Slippery Rock has four players that have cracked the top five in SRU history this season in caused turnovers, draw controls, goals, assists and points.
Paige Jenkins is the SRU record holder in caused turnovers (120) and is up to No. 5 in draw controls (192),
Shannon Von Kaenel is up to No. 3 at SRU in draw controls (250),
Reagan Richeson is up to No. 2 in goals (152) and No. 4 in points (177) and
Maddie Blazey is up to No. 5 in assists (52).
SRU PLAYERS IN TOP 20 IN CAREER RECORD BOOK
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Paige Jenkins – 120 caused turnovers (No. 1 at SRU)
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Reagan Richeson – 152 goals (No. 2 at SRU – needs 63 to move up to No. 1)
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Shannon Von Kaenel – 250 draw controls (No. 3 at SRU – needs 21 to move up to No. 2)
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Reagan Richeson – 177 points (No. 4 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 3)
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Paige Jenkins – 192 draw controls (No. 5 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 4)
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Maddie Blazey – 52 assists (No. 5 at SRU – needs 9 to move up to No. 4)
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Grace Rotter – 51 assists (No. 6 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 5)
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Grace Rotter – 160 points (No. 7 at SRU – needs 6 move up to No. 6)
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Paige Jenkins – 128 ground balls (No. 10 at SRU – needs 2 to move up to No. 9)
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Grace Rotter – 109 goals (No. 10 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 8)
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Isabella Buono – 131 points (No. 13 at SRU – needs 10 to move up to No. 12)
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Isabella Buono – 96 goals (No. 13 at SRU – needs 7 to move up to No. 12)
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Abby Fink – 93 goals (No. 14 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 13)
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Isabella Buono – 35 assists (No. 15 at SRU – needs 3 to move up to No. 14)
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Abby Fink – 121 points (No. 16 at SRU – needs 1 to move up to No. 14)
UPCOMING STAT MILESTONES FOR SRU
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Maddie Blazey: 12 points away from 100
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Maddie Blazey: 23 assists away from 75
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Isabella Buono: 15 assists away from 50
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Isabella Buono: 4 goals away from 100
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Isabella Buono: 19 points away from 150
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Abby Fink: 4 points away from 125
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Abby Fink: 7 goals away from 100
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Paige Jenkins: 8 DC away from 200
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Paige Jenkins: 5 CT away from 125
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Paige Jenkins: 22 GB away from 150
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Reagan Richeson: 23 points away from 200
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Reagan Richeson: 23 goals away from 175
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Grace Rotter: 15 points away from 175 at SRU*
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Grace Rotter: 24 assists away from 75 at SRU *
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Grace Rotter: 16 goals away from 125 at SRU*
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Lily Ventresca: 5 GB away from 75
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Lily Ventresca: 19 saves away from 200
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Shannon Von Kaenel: 25 DC away from 275
* Rotter scored 33 points on 21 goals and 12 assists at Notre Dame College before transferring to SRU after the 2024 season
WEST CHESTER PRIMER
• Overall Record: 15-3
• PSAC Record: 10-2
• Home Record: 6-2
• Away Record: 9-1
• Streak: W2
• Last Five Games: 4-1
• Head Coach: Ginny Martino (28th season, UMass '88) | Record: 439-87
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN RAMS
West Chester is under the direction of the winningest coach in Division II history in Ginny Martino, who has amassed 439 career wins in her 28 seasons with the Golden Rams. She has claimed 16 PSAC titles the previous 27 seasons and has failed to win the conference title just 11 times in her entire career. WCU has not lost more than three games in a single-season in the last eight years and has never had a sub .500 season under Martino.
The Rams are 15-3 this year with all three losses coming against undefeated teams, including two of those losses at home by just one goal. WCU is outscoring opponents 317-171 and outshooting opponents 602-436 through 18 games. The Rams have a slim 260-256 edge in draw controls and a 391-325 advantage in ground balls.
Five players have at least 50 points on the year and three players have more than 75 points, led by Lila McMahon Skates with 97 points on 51 goals and 46 assists. Kendall Fortune has a team-high 60 goals to go along with 18 assists for 78 points, while Sydney Wasdick has 57 goals and 19 assists for 76 points while also leading the team with 101 draw controls. Marissa Herring has 53 goals and 11 assists and Madeline Edinger has 39 goals and 14 assists to round out the top scorers.
Olivia Reinhart leads the defense with 30 caused turnovers and 26 ground balls, while Caitlin Trickett has 27 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls to go along with 48 draw controls.
Four different goalies have played on the year with Morgan Koons getting the most minutes with 16 starts and 730 minutes in goal. She has a 10.03 goals against average and a .465 save percentage. Division I transfer Korrigan Sweeney has played in 10 games with two starts and spent 256 minutes in goal. She owns a 7.98 goals against average and a .493 save percentage. Sweeney did not play against SRU earlier this year. Hannah Cornelius, who took the loss against SRU in the opener, has not appeared in a game since facing The Rock in February.
NEXT UP
The winner of Friday's semifinal game will play for the PSAC championship Sunday at 1 p.m. against the winner of the second semifinal between East Stroudsburg and Kutztown. The loser of the game will turn its focus to Sunday night's NCAA Selection Show as both Slippery Rock and West Chester are near locks to earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament regardless of Friday's result. The NCAA will announce the national playoff field Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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