West Chester Readies For Another Shot At National Championship

Women's Lacrosse Game Notes - National Championship Game

ALLENDALE, Mich. - West Chester University returns to the national championship game for the first time since 2012 and the 10th time overall in school history when it battles perennial lacrosse power Adelphi University at 11 a.m. Sunday at GVSU Lacrosse Stadium on the campus of Grand Valley State University.

A Watch Party is being organized at Timothy's of West Chester. Come out and support West Chester's women's lacrosse squad. The game will be streamed live at:  https://www.ncaa.com/game/lacrosse-women/d2/2019/05/19/west-chester-adelphi

West Chester advanced to the championship game with a 10-9 victory over Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.) on Friday afternoon. The Golden Rams held a three-goal lead down the stretch, but had to hold on in the end for the one-goal win. Adelphi was a 17-10 winner over Regis University (Colo.) in the other semifinal. The Panthers are making their fifth appearance in the championship game in the last six years.

Today's matchup features the two winningest programs in NCAA Division II Tournament history. Adelphi holds the most wins in the NCAA D2 Tournament since its inception in 2001 with 27 while West Chester has 17 wins to its credit. Both teams are making their 10th appearance in the title game. Adelphi is 8-1 in NCAA Championship Games while West Chester shows a 2-7 record in the finals. Adelphi is 27-6 all-time in the NCAA Division II Tournament while West Chester is 17-10.

West Chester and Adelphi have met in the NCAA Championship Game on three other occasions with the Panthers coming out victorious every time. The last time these two schools met for the title was 2010 in Gettysburg, Pa., where Adelphi came away with a 17-7 win. The two previous meetings were in 2004 and 2006.

A WEST CHESTER WIN TODAY WOULD ...
-    Hand WCU its third national championship in school history - all with Ginny Martino
-     Hand WCU its school-record 21st win of the season
-    Mark the first time in four tries that WCU defeated Adelphi in the championship game
-     Hand WCU its 18th win in NCAA Tournament games (2nd most in D2 history)
-     Send WCU into next spring riding a 15-game winning streak

HOW THEY GOT HERE
West Chester University was the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region and hosted the regional tournament. The Golden Rams topped No. 25 Seton Hill, 20-10, in the first round of the regional, and then knocked off No. 14 East Stroudsburg in the championship game of the regional, 16-5. West Chester, the No. 3 seed at the national finals site this weekend, downed second-seeded Queens (N.C.), 10-9, in the semifinals on Friday.

Adelphi was the third seed in the East Regional and defeated the No. 2 seed, LIU-Post, 16-3, followed by the top-seed, Le Moyne, 12-11 (2 OT), in Syracuse, N.Y. to earn its trip to Allendale, Mich. On Friday, Adelphi defeated the No. 1 seed at the national finals site, Regis (Coloo.), 17-10, to stamp its ticket to the national championship game.
    
SCOUTING ADELPHI
Adelphi has rebounded nicely from a stunning upset to Merrimack College in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. The Panthers have outscored their opponents, 45-24, in the three NCAA Tournament wins so far. They are just one goal shy of tying the record for team goals in an NCAA Tournament in one season – though they will play one more game than any of the previous leaders.

Kole Pollock and Alison Johnson have led the offensive charge for the Panthers all season. Pollock leads the team and sits eighth in the NCAA in goals with 77. Johnson has 103 points on the year and 71 assists, which is fourth in the NCAA. Lena Riportella would be the next dangerous attacker for the Panthers with 46 goals on the season. Adelphi's high-scoirng offense will be quite a challenge for West Chester's stingy defense, which has only allowed double digits in goals six times in 22 games this spring.

Nicki Stanco and Alexandra Beebe are the close defenders, who try to limit opponent's opportunities. One, or both, will be responsible for shutting down West Chester's leading scorer, Sami Barnett (17 goals in five playoff games). Meanwhile, Emma Lemanski (18-3, 7.14 goals-against average) will be in the cage for Adelphi. Her 7.14 GAA ranks third in the NCAA - three spots higher than her counterpart on West Chester, Julianne Clemens. West Chester will need to take shots on Lemanski in order to have success. Much like East Stroudsburg's goalie, Tatyana Petteway, Lemanski is going to make her fair share of saves. Getting shots on the net will be the key for West Chester's offense.

REINHART AND CLEMENS AMONG ACTIVE LEADERS
Junior defender Molly Reinhart and sophomore goalkeeper Julianne Clemens are among the all-time active leaders in both caused turnovers per game and goals-against average, respectively. Reinhart averages 2.3 caused turnovers per game over her 40-game career, which ranks her fifth among active leaders in Division II. Meanwhile, Clemens' career 7.11 goals-against average ranks sixth among active Division II goalkeepers.

WCU's 10 APPEARANCES IN FINALS TIED FOR MOST ALL-TIME
West Chester University is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Division II national champoinship game, which is tied for the most along with today's opponent, Adelphi. West Chester is 9-1 in the semifinal round, however, shows just a 2-7 record in the championship game. Adelphi is 8-1 in its previous nine trips to the national title game.  Today's matchup is tied for the most-played national championship matchup in Division II history. These two schools will meet to crown a champion for the fourth time. That equals the four times that West Chester has faced LIU-Post and is one more time than Adelphi has faced Lock Haven.

Though West Chester has been to 10 national championship games, the Golden Rams have only faced three different opponents (Adelphi-4; LIU-Post 4; Stonehill-2). Meanwhile Adelphi has faced four different opponents in the finals (West Chester-4; Lock Haven-3; Florida Southern-2; Limestone-1).

WCU's 17 WINS IN TOURNAMENT SECOND MOST IN DII HISTORY
West Chester University is 17-10 overall in the NCAA Tournament and that number of victories is second only to Adelphi (27) entering Sunday's championship game. The Golden Rams have been to the NCAAs 13 times and to the national finals now 10 times while racking up that impressive number of wins along the way.

WEST CHESTER TIES SINGLE-SEASON WINS TOTAL
West Chester University picked up its 20th win of the season on Friday in the semifinals with its 10-9 victory over Queens (N.C). That ties the school record for wins in a single season with the 2008 national championship squad that finished 20-1 – winning 20 straight after a season-opening loss to Limestone. A win today over Adelphi would break the school record by handing the Golden Rams their 21st win of the season. With Friday's win, head coach Ginny Martino hit the 20-win plateau for the second time in her illustrious career. She was also at the helm of the Rams in 2008 when she steered them to a national title.

SIX GOLDEN RAMS NAMED IWLCA All-ATLANTIC REGION
West Chester University was well represented on the 2019 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-Atlantic Region squad it was announced Thursday afternoon.

Seniors Sami Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) and Maggie Stella (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) were named first team all-region along with juniors Tatum Altman (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) and Molly Reinhart (Sinking Springs, Pa./Wilson). Second team honorees included Brenna Lynch (Richboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and Ryan McKinney (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West).

The IWLCA has honored 128 student-athletes in Division II with a selection to one of the all-region teams for 2019. These student-athletes are now eligible to be named to a national IWLCA All-American team. The IWLCA will celebrate the 2019 All-Americans during Divisional All-American Specials, which will be aired on Lax Sports Network in mid-June.

Stella makes her second consecutive appearance on the first team all-region squad as her 53 goals and 19 assists see her second on the team in points with 72. Her goal and assist figures both rank third on the team.  Stella is ranked sixth in the PSAC in draw controls per game with 4.38. Her 92 draw controls on the year lead the Golden Rams and ranks sixth in the PSAC. Additionally, Stella registered a hat trick against the No. 1 team in the country (Le Moyne), posted a season-high seven points against nationally ranked Pace and added another five points against nationally ranked East Stroudsburg.

Barnett makes her second appearance on the all-region first team. The Glenolden native leads the team in scoring, totaling 58 goals, while her 17 assists find her fourth on the team. Barnett started all 21 games for the Golden Rams and registered at least a point in 20 of 21 contests.

McKinney, a senior transfer from LIU-Post, makes her first appearance on the all-region team.  A second team selection, McKinney's 56 goals ranks second on the Golden Rams' attack while her 2.67 goals per game rank 10th best in the PSAC – right behind Barnett. McKinney found herself on the scoresheet in 19 of 21 games, while scoring two or more goals in 17 of those contests.

Altman received all-region honors for the first time, landing on the first team as her balanced approach saw a 71-point contribution on the season, which also ranked third on the team lead in points. Her 1.90 assists per game stand as fifth in the PSAC overall, while her 33 goals and 38 assists garnered 3.38 points per game.

Lynch received all region honors for the first time. She caused 30 turnovers and has 54 ground balls to her credit this spring. Lynch is a huge reason the Golden Rams have surrendered the fewest goals among schools in the conference this season. The Golden Rams' defense ranks fourth in the country in scoring defense.

Reinhart, a junior defender, has continued her stout work on the back line. She has 48 caused turnovers and picked up 48 ground balls. Her 2.29 caused turnovers per game find her ninth in the PSAC as the defender's play has been a big reason that West Chester's scoring defense is tops in the conference based on scoring margin.  Reinhart headlines the defense that ranks sixth in the country in caused turnovers.

WCU IN SEMIFINAL WIN
So., goalkeeper Julianne Clemens (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) made two saves in the final minute of the game, the first on a free position, as No. 5 West Chester held on to defeat 10th-ranked Queens (N.C.), 10-9, in the NCAA Division II Semifinals at Grand Valley State University Friday afternoon.

West Chester (20-2) advances to the national championship game for the 10th time in school history, all under head coach Ginny Martino, and will face Adelphi (N.Y.) University on Sunday at noon at GVSU Lacrosse Stadium. Queens ends its season at 19-3.

Clemens stopped a low shot attempt off a free position with about one minute left in the contest. However, West Chester turned the ball over, and Queens had another opportunity with about 30 seconds left. Clemens was tall to the task again, and the Golden Rams ran out the final half minute to advance.

West Chester raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the contest. However, Queens fought back to draw within one late in the first half, 5-4. That is when a fortunate bounce went the Golden Rams' way, and West Chester took a two-goal lead into the locker room at halftime.

Senior Emily Schulze's shot with three seconds left hit Queen's goalkeeper and bounced up into the air. The goalie could not find the ball, though, and it came down behind her and just rolled over the goal line to make it 6-4 at half.

A change in tempo was needed midway through the game when Queens seemed to be rallying, eventually tying the score at 7-apiece. That is when West Chester went on a three-goal run that proved to be just enough. The Golden Rams had to make adjustments.

Morrissey assisted on West Chester's final two tallies, finding Maggie Stella (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) and Devon Mela (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North), who scored the eventual game-winner.

After that, it was a frantic final two minutes to the end of the game.

Sami Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) and Tatum Altman (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) each scored two goals and assisted on one. Tara Morrissey (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) scored a goal and posted a pair of assists as well for three points on the day. Clemens made 10 saves, none bigger than the two at the end of the game, to earn the first star of the game from the statistician's crew.

MARTINO ADDING TO HER HALL OF FAME RESUME
West Chester University head coach Ginny Martino will certainly be a shoo-in for a plethora of halls of fame. The NCAA Division II all-time winningest head coach has 329 career victories to her credit, two national championships and has been the architect for one of the most successful women's lacrosse programs in the country over the last two decades. She ranks seventh overall on the all-time wins list (all divisions included) and her .812 career winning percentage ranks 13th overall all-time. In 22 years, all on West Chester's sideline, Martino has won 29 more games than Scott Tucker at Limestone to claim the most wins in DII history. Her seventh-place spot on the overall all-time wins list is solely because she has not coaches nearly as many years as those ahead of her. The College of New Jersey head coach Sharon Pfluger leads the field with 527 wins in 33 years.

ALL IN THE FAMILY FOR THE McKINNEY'S
West Chester University has a pair of sisters on its 2019 roster – a pair of all-conference sisters at that. Senior Attacker Ryan McKinney and sophomore midfielder Drew McKinney have started nearly all 21 games this season for the Golden Rams. The elder McKinney was a second team All-PSAC selection while the younger sibling was a third-team member. Drew was recruited to the West Chester family out of high school and has been a starting midfielder virtually her entire career in the Purple & Gold. Her sister, Ryan, is another story. Ryan spent three years at LIU-Post playing for the Pioneers and that storied program on Long Island. However, last year, McKinney left that program to join her younger sister, Drew, this spring. This is their first college season together.

Ryan McKinney has 57 goals, 12 assists and 69 points on the season while Drew has amassed 18 goals, 6 assists and 24 points. Together, the McKinney's have 75 goals, 18 assists and 94 points.