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INDIANAPOLIS, IND –
Lindsay Monigle (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) scored five goals and tied a season-high with 10 points to lead top-ranked West Chester to a 18-10 victory over No. 14 Grand Valley State in an NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse national semifinal at Key Stadium Friday afternoon.
West Chester (22-0) will play for a national championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Pace, which was a 22-11 winner over Florida Southern in the other semifinal. Grand Valley State (16-5) saw its Cinderella run in the tournament come to a close in its first national semifinal appearance in school history.
The Golden Rams will make their 11th national championship game appearance on Sunday. They last won the national title in 2008.
"I'm just so proud of this group. The resilience, the determination. Not only today, but all year long," West Chester head coach
Ginny Martino said afterwards. "They are not shook by what the opponent is doing, or by the high-pressure situation that this game is and what it means. I think they did a really nice job today against an excellent team that is known for its comebacks."
The Lakers stuck with the Golden Rams through much of the first half, making it a 6-5 game late in the second quarter, before West Chester started to pull away right before halftime and then continue that into the third.
"I think we did a good job of staying with them in the first half," Grand Valley State head coach Mackenzie Lawler said. "But, their team speed was something we weren't quite ready for. Their top three goal scorers were the people we had to contain, and we just didn't do that."
Hannah Stanislawczyk (Mohnton, Pa./Gov. Mifflin) and
Meg O'Donnell (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) scored four goals each.
Keri Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) registered a hat trick in the win as well.
Monigle fueled a four-goal run in the second half with two goals and two assists that pushed West Chester's lead from four to seven (14-7) by the end of the third. Monigle added two more goals in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on the win.
"I'm an assister. Everyone knows that, and that's what works against a zone. We did a good job today finding the pockets (in that zone)," Monigle said. "Everyone else did the work, I just hit them when they were open."
Jessica Gorr (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) made five saves in the cage to pick up her 22nd win of the season. Her counterpart, Sarah Krause, made six saves in relief of starter Kaylyn Cater, who did not make a save in the first 19 minutes. Gorr settled in after an inconsistent first quarter and turned in a stellar performance between the pipes.
"I think it's pretty much about resetting," Gorr said. "I knew they were shooting off-hip, off-side. It's all about confidence once you make that one save, or the defense creates a turnover."
West Chester picked up 19 ground balls to Grand Valley's 8. The Lakers committed 14 turnovers in the loss as well.
Molly Bursinger led Grand Valley with three goals and three assists.
NOTES: West Chester picked up its 22nd win of the season with Friday's victory … that ties the NCAA single-season record which has been done three other times … West Chester played in its 12th national semifinal … Golden Rams are now 11-1 in the semifinal round … Monigle's 10-point afternoon leaves her with 109 on the year … she eclipsed 100 points in a season for the second time in her career … she is just the third player in school history to do that … Monigle moved past Tatum Altman (2017-21) into sixth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 293 points … she is seven points shy of becoming the sixth player in school history to reach 300 career points.
