WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The fifth-ranked West Chester University women's lacrosse team (1-0) started its 2025 season with a dominant victory on Saturday, erasing an early two-goal deficit to cruise to a 21-4 win over Roberts Wesleyan (0-2) who was playing its second top-five opponent in as many days after facing Pace on Friday afternoon.
Keri Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) was a force to be reckoned with in the season opener, scoring six goals and adding two assists for eight points while also coming away with four draw controls and a caused turnover. Barnett was a perfect 4-for-4 on free-position attempts in the season-opening victory.
Kendall Fortune (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) finished with six points of her own, scoring four goals on seven shots and adding a pair of assists.
Lila McMahon-Skates (West Linn, Ore./West Linn), Grace Rosica (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge), and Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) were all multiple-goal scorers for West Chester as Skates finished with three goals. At the same time, Rosica and Wasdick chipped in two each.
West Chester found itself down a pair of goals early but erased this deficit quickly with an 11-0 run, led by four goals from Barnett, as the team grabbed an 11-2 lead with 12:53 to play until halftime.
2024 ECC Attacker of the Year, Emma Blumenstock, halted the run with her first goal of the season with 10:57 to play in the second quarter, but this was the visiting Red Hawks final goal until the 3:11 mark of the third when Kadie Tierney netted her second of the afternoon off an assist from Lia MacDougall, which cut the West Chester lead to 17-4.
Tierney's tally was the final goal of the third quarter for either side, but West Chester wasted little time opening the fourth quarter scoring as Wasdick deposited her second goal of the afternoon just 45 seconds in for the first of four Golden Ram goals in the frame.
Olivia Burkentine (Milton, Del./Cape Henlopen), Avery Roberts (Mantua, N.J./Clearview), and
Rosica
all scored their first goals as Golden Rams in the victory. Roberts was the first first-time goal scorer for West Chester, and her tally was just under four minutes into the game, giving West Chester a 4-2 lead. Rosica scored twice, including her first goal with 6:12 to play in the first, and Burkentine became the final first-time scorer with a goal of her own off an assist from Barnett with 3:17 to play.
Piper Hammond (Tucson, Az./Southridge) led the Golden Rams in draw controls with eight while leading the charge in caused turnovers with four. Hammond finished the game second on the team in ground balls with four, trailing only
Kara Stewart (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spaulding), who scooped up four ground balls in the season opener. West Chester ended the game with a 20-8 lead in draw controls and was 17-for-19 on clear attempts, while Roberts Wesleyan was 13-for-19, including a 2-for-5 effort in the second quarter.
Hannah Cornelius (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) earned her first collegiate victory in goal, making a pair of saves in 45 minutes of action, while
Morgan Koons (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) made her collegiate debut in the third quarter, making one save and yielding just one goal in the victory.
For Roberts Wesleyan, Shawna Lesmerises worked hard in goal, making 10 saves in three-quarters of work to suffer her second loss of the season. Tierney led the visitors in scoring with two goals on two shots while also coming away with four ground balls and causing three turnovers.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Friday afternoon at home against American International beginning at 3 p.m. Friday will be a Headstrong game for West Chester as the Golden Rams will battle a former Golden Ram in AIC head coach
Jess Harrison.
