WEST CHESTER, PA – Three players registered six points and goalkeeper,
Jessica Gorr (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) made 10 saves as top-ranked West Chester defeated No. 22 Seton Hill to claim the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Women's Lacrosse championship for a record 25th time Sunday afternoon.
West Chester (19-0) now awaits the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Selection Show, which is at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night to see who it will play in next week's Atlantic Regional. Seton Hill (15-4) must also await the selection show for it's fate. Both schools were ranked first and second, respectively, in last week's regional poll. The top four teams in the region will qualify for the Atlantic Regional.
In stark contrast to Friday's semifinal, West Chester jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game and never looked back. Seton Hill drew within three on two occasions, but could never halt the Golden Rams' momentum long enough to come all the way back.
West Chester converted four extra-player opportunities in the first half to boost its offensive output.
Keri Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) finished the game with five goals and an assist for a six-point outing in the championship game. She was named the tournament's most valuable player during the post-game awards ceremony. She joins her older sister, Sami Barnett ('19), as a PSAC Finals MVP. Sami Barnett won the award in 2019 when West Chester beat East Stroudsburg in the finals.
"We needed to check this off our 'to-do' list today, and we needed to take care of business," West Chester head coach
Ginny Martino said. "I'm proud of the effort today on a really hot day and against a really good team."
Hannah Stanislawczyk (Mohnton, Pa./Gov. Mifflin) scored four goals and assisted on two others. Both her and Barnett registered 10 points in the two tournament games this weekend. However, with Seton Hill focusing their attention on defense to Nos. 11 and 14, junior midfielder
Julia Littlewood (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) threw in four goals and assisted on two others for six points of her own.
"Ginny is always challenging us to pass the ball and move it down field quickly," Littlewood said afterwards. "Our offense is so focused and disciplined. Our attack was playing well together, and our connections were on point today. It wasn't just me. In our offense, everybody handles the ball. Everybody gets a touch."
Lindsay Monigle (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) and
Meg O'Donnell (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) each scored a pair of goals and assisted on a pair. Freshman
Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) scored two goals off the bench as well. Nine different Golden Rams scored a goal in the game.
Defensively,
Grace Frasso (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) was all over the field once again. She secured four draw controls and caused five turnovers. Barnett, Edinger and Stanislawczyk each grabbed four draws as well.
Seton Hill had 22 turnovers in the game, 17 of those were caused by the Golden Rams. The Griffins were just 11-for-18 in clearing the ball and just 1-for-5 on their free positions. West Chester cleared 13 of 16 attempts and converted 5 of 8 free position opportunities. The Golden Rams' stop unit limited Seton Hill to just 22 shots in the game.
When shots did make it through, Gorr was there to stop 10 of those opportunities. Her counterpart, Kyleigh Hessian, was credited with 15 saves and even had an assist in the game.
For Martino, it is her 15th conference championship in 25 years at the helm of the top women's lacrosse program in the PSAC. The NCAA's all-time winningest head coach at the Division II level takes 382 wins into the Atlantic Regional next weekend.
Seton Hill was led offensively by Megan Bunker's four points (2G, 2A). She also had three ground balls and three draw controls. Carleigh Sutfin finished with three points (2G, 1A) and five draw controls.
