WEST CHESTER, PA – Sr., M
Hannah Stanislawczyk (Mohnton, Pa./Gov. Mifflin) scored five goals, and So. A
Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) potted a career-high eight tallies to lead second-ranked West Chester to a 19-3 victory over Seton Hill in the Atlantic Region semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Vonnie Gros Field Thursday afternoon.
West Chester (20-0) advances to the Atlantic Region final against East Stroudsburg. That game, a rematch of the last five Atlantic Region finals, will be played on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Vonnie Gros Field. ESU holds a 3-2 edge in those previous encounters.
The Golden Rams held a 42-14 advantage in shots, and cleared 18 of their 19 opportunities while forcing the Griffins (13-6) into 21 turnovers. West Chester scored the first 10 goals of the game, hled an 11-1 lead at halftime and never looked back.
"I'm so proud of our group," West Chester head coach
Ginny Martino said afterwards. "Historically this year, we haven't started out games very well. But, we played a complete game today. We kept the pressure them right from the start and took advantage of their turnovers.
Stanislawczyk's five goals in the game gives her 299 in her college career, equaling that of former Golden Rams great, Katelyn Martin, who scored 299 career goals between 2003 and 2006. She has 89 goals on the season and is just four goals back of Kathleen Sheehan's record of 93 tallies in 2002. She scored three times in the first half while West Chester was building its 10-goal lead.
"Today was a tough one," Seton Hill head coach Dina Cifelli said. "We have a young team across the board, and today was a good learning experience. (Goalkeeper Allison Hathaway) played well today. There's only so much you can do when you are playing defense as much as we were today. I was proud of our defense and how they made (West Chester) work deep into the shot clock on possessions."
Stanislawczyk and Wasdick accounted for 13 of the Golden Rams 19 goals Thursday.
Amanda Wolfe (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) scored twice and assisted on two others for a four-point afternoon.
Meg O'Donnell (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) had three assists.
Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and
Jess Harrison (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) each had one goal and one assist.
Defensively, Wasdick came up with another career number with seven draw controls. The Golden Rams limited the Griffins to just 14 shots in the game and 8-for-12 on clears. A total of 10 different players registered a caused turnover, and four of them had more than one to their credit.
"Our defense always steps up," Stanislawczyk added. "It's something that we take pride in."
Jessica Gorr (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) made eight saves to earn her 20th win of the season between the pipes. Hathaway finished with 10 for Seton Hill.
West Chester and East Stroudsburg meet for the third time this season on Saturday. The Golden Rams took the two regular-season contests. It will be the last time that ESU's Emily Mitarotonda and WCU's Stanislawczyk take the field together in what has been an exciting match-up to watch over the last four years.
