NCAA Tournament Notes
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - West Chester University's women's lacrosse team enters the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in its storied history, and for the second straight year, will host the first two rounds. The Golden Rams take on Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference rival Seton Hill University, which is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. These two conference rivals have met twice already this spring with the most recent encounter coming one week ago right here on this field. West Chester defeated Seton Hill, 18-10, in Greensburg, Pa., back in March and then topped the Griffins, 16-15 in overtime, in the PSAC semifinals last Friday, after mounting a furious comeback late in the second half to tie the game.
Tickets to the 2019 NCAA DII Women's Lacrosse first round games this weekend at West Chester University are set by the NCAA and stand at $10 for adults, $5 for students/senior citizens and $2 for children 3-12 years of age. Children under 2 are admitted free. Parking for the lacrosse games will be in Lot N – the entrance in front of Sturzebecker Health Science Center. Spectators will pay at the lot entrance and then can make their way around the building to the back where Vonnie Gros Field is located. Seating will be in the bleachers on the west side of the field only. Nobody will be granted access to the playing field without a credential.
West Chester went on to win its conference-record 22nd PSAC women's lacrosse title on Sunday and claim the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region for the second time in as many years and will host today's pair of first round games as well as Sunday's quarterfinal. This is the first season in which the NCAA has increased the number of qualifying teams to 16, taking four teams from each of the four regions, instead of three, which was the case from 2016-18. Head coach
Ginny Martino has been at the helm for all 13 trips to the NCAAs and has one of her most talented teams in her 22-year tenure along for the ride this time around. Though the Golden Rams sport an overall winning percentage above .500 in the NCAA Tournament, they are looking to break a three-game losing streak in the NCAAs today. West Chester has not won an NCAA game since 2012.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
West Chester University is the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region and earned the right to host the regional as such. The Golden Rams are riding an 11-game winning streak entering the NCAA Tournament and are coming off their 22nd conference championship last weekend. West Chester (17-2) has not lost a game in regulation this season. The Golden Rams' two losses each came in overtime back in March.
Seton Hill is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, after reaching the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) postseason tournament and dropping an overtime decision to the region's top-ranked team, West Chester, last weekend in West Chester. The Griffins moved up two spots to No. 4 in the regional rankings, earning the fourth and final seed into the regional.
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SCOUTING SETON HILL
Before last weekend's heart-breaking overtime defeat at the hands of West Chester, Seton Hill (11-8) had won four of its last five contests to make a late run at the postseason. That winning spree included a victory over Indiana (Pa.) in the PSAC Quarterfinals, which is believed to be what stamped the Griffins' ticket to the NCAAs for the first time. They left little doubt with the selection committee that they were one of the four best teams in the Atlantic Region at the end of the season.
That said, the Griffins put a tremendous amount of pressure on their opponents by virtue of winning 62 percent of their draws (316-for-509). Junior midfielder Emma Haley leads the country in draw controls with 151. She averages nearly eight draws per game. If that isn't impressive enough, teammate red-shirt senior Keagan Pontious has 77 draw controls to her credit. Watch for Seton Hill to dominate the draws again on Friday and try to open up the game by stringing together a lot of goals on continuous possessions. If Seton Hill can control the draws, minimize the turnovers, and keep possession of the ball, then it will improve its chances at the upset.
Last Friday, Mackenzie Kilduff torched the Golden Rams for seven goals. The Griffins could use another effort like that from her this Friday to get past the No. 1 seed. Kilduff is the team's leading goal scorer with 66 on the season. Jaclyn Frank leads the team in scoring with 84 points. Frank and Kilduff teamed up for a pair of goals last week against West Chester.
Seton Hill turns the ball over more than its opponent, and the Griffins only clear the ball 78 percent of the time. Those two areas have been the Achilles heel for Seton Hill this spring. Limiting those mistakes and taking care of the ball are two areas in which the Griffins need to focus if they are to make a run in the postseason this weekend and possibly get to the national semifinals.
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 13 APPEARANCES THIRD MOST IN DII HISTORY
West Chester University is making its 13th appearance in the NCAA Division II Championships and that is third best behind LIU-Post (16th) and Adelphi (15th). West Chester's 14 victories all-time is tied with LIU-Post for second behind Adelphi, which is way out in front with 24 wins to its credit. The Golden Rams' .583 winning percentage on the national stage is fourth best behind Adelphi (.800), Florida Southern (.700) and Le Moyne (.667).
MAGGIE STELLA NAMED PSAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
West Chester University midfielder
Maggie Stella was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's lacrosse athlete of the year to headline seven Golden Rams selected to the all-conference team that was announced Thursday. Stella makes her second consecutive appearance on the first team as her 41 goals and 18 assists see her tied atop the team lead in points with 59. Her goal and assist figures both rank third on the team. Stella is ranked fifth in the PSAC in draw controls per game with 4.76. Her 81 draw controls on the year lead the Golden Rams and ranks fifth 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.
SEVEN GOLDEN RAMS NAMED ALL-LEAGUE
West Chester University midfielder
Maggie Stella was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's lacrosse athlete of the year to headline seven Golden Rams selected to the all-conference team that was announced Thursday.
Sami Barnett joined Stella on the first team while
Ryan McKinney,
Tatum Altman,
Brenna Lynch and
Molly Reinhart found themselves on the second team. Midfielder
Drew McKinney was also a third team selection.
Stella makes her second consecutive appearance on the first team as her 41 goals and 18 assists see her tied atop the team lead in points with 59. Her goal and assist figures both rank third on the team. Stella is ranked fifth in the PSAC in draw controls per game with 4.76. Her 81 draw controls on the year lead the Golden Rams and ranks fifth 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 fourth appearance on the all-conference team, and her second consecutive on the top unit. The Glenolden native is second on the team in scoring, totaling 43 goals, while her 16 assists find her tied with Stella and Altman for the team lead in points. She ranks sixth in the PSAC in scoring as well. Barnett started all 17 games for the Golden Rams and registered at least a point in 16 of 17 contests.
Ryan McKinney, a senior transfer from LIU Post, makes her first appearance on the all-league team. A second team selection, McKinney's 46 goals lead the Golden Rams' attack while her 2.71 goals per game rank ninth best in the PSAC. McKinney found herself on the scoresheet in 15 of 17 games, while scoring two or more goals in 14 of those contests.
Altman received honors for the second consecutive year as her balanced approach saw a 59-point contribution on the season, which also tied for the team lead in points. Her 1.94 assists per game stand as fifth in the PSAC overall, while her 28 goals and 31 assists garnered 3.69 points per game, landing her ninth in the PSAC in that category.
Lynch received all league honors for the second consecutive season. She caused 26 turnovers and has 42 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 36 caused turnovers and picked up 36 ground balls. Her 2.21 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.
Drew McKinney, younger sister to Ryan, received her second consecutive third team selection as she's started all 17 games for the Golden Rams. The local product from Downingtown West High School scored 14 goals this spring with six assists to her credit. But, more importantly, the midfielder has 27 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers to her name. Her 32 draw controls rank third on the team.
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 328 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 28 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.
