West Chester vs East Stroudsburg
Game Details: March 12 I 4 P.M.
Location: Vonnie Gros Field (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 79-10
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
ESU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
It wasn’t always easy for No. 4 West Chester on Saturday against Assumption as the Golden Rams wrapped up non-league play with a hard-fought 17-11 victory over Assumption. West Chester outscored Assumption in three of four quarters and jumped out to an early three-goal lead in the first nine minutes before taking a 5-1 lead into the second. Assumption made its run late in the second quarter as the Greyhounds cut the Golden Rams lead to 8-6 heading into the halftime break. After Sydney Wasdick’s (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) second of three goals on the game with 7:54 to play in the fourth quarter, West Chester restored a six-goal lead but two quick Assumption goals cut the deficit back down to four before Wasdick and Lila McMahon Skates (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) tallied the final two goals of the game to lift West Chester to the 17-11 victory.
Keri Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) was a force all around the field on Saturday as she scored a season-high six goals and added an assist for seven points, while also causing eight turnovers and coming away with four draw controls and three ground balls in the victory.
Flock Talk
Barnett remains first on the team in scoring with 19 goals and four assists for 23 points on the season. Barnett is second in the PSAC in goals on the year and tied for first in the league in goals per game, averaging 4.75, while also coming away with 13 draw controls and seven ground balls, along with 13 caused turnovers. Barnett leads the team in caused turnovers after her outstanding game on Saturday and is also tied for the team lead in draw controls, while Piper Hammond (Tucson, Ariz./Southridge) is first in ground balls with 12. Kendall Fortune (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) is second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and six assists for 19 points, while Wasdick is third with 11 goals on the season. Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and McMahon Skates have also provided good depth for head coach Ginny Martino’s squad this year, scoring five goals along with four assists for nine points each on the year.
The biggest question facing head coach Ginny Martino and the Golden Rams heading into the 2025 season was the goalie question, as the team knew it had to replace a multiple-time All-American in Jessica Gorr. Hannah Cornelius (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and Morgan Koons (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) have done an excellent job of filling Gorr’s shoes in 2025. The sophomore Cornelius is 4-0 in goal with four starts and 165 minutes played with a 6.91 goals-against average and a 40.6 % save percentage. Koons has seen time in the second half of a number of games for West Chester this season, logging 75 minutes in three games with a 4.80 goals-against average and a 60.0 % save percentage, making nine saves on 21 chances.
Rank and File
West Chester climbed to third in the ILWCA Coaches Poll this week and remained fourth in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll after handing Assumption its second consecutive loss by a 17-11 final on Saturday. East Stroudsburg went 1-1 last week with a 12-6 loss at home to Slippery Rock last Wednesday before earning a neutral-site victory over Indiana (Pa.) by a 19-6 final on Saturday afternoon at Lebanon Valley College.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester continues its unprecedented eight-game homestand to open the season today with its fifth home game of the year and first of four home PSAC East games to open league after wrapping up non-conference play with a 17-11 victory over Assumption on Saturday.
Power Surge
West Chester is outscoring opponents 76-25 through its first three games of the year, with its lowest scoring effort being a 14-8 victory over No. 17 Bentley on March 2.
Series History
West Chester’s clash vs ESU will be the Golden Rams' first matchup against the Warriors since a stunning 13-12 setback on Vonnie Gros in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, which saw ESU outscore WCU 6-1 in the fourth quarter to complete the unlikeliest of comebacks and advance to the National Semifinals.
West Chester retains a 79-10 lead in the all-time series vs East Stroudsburg, although the under the leadership of Xeni Barakos-Yoder, the Warriors have chipped away in recent years. Barakos-Yoder can be credited with eight ESU’s 10 wins against WCU since taking over the program in 2016, including a comeback win in the Atlantic Regional Final last May and a stretch, which saw the Warriors win four of five from May 2021 through May 2022. West Chester head coach Ginny Martino is 38-10 head-to-head with the Warriors in her 27-year career.
Scouting ESU
Outscoring Indiana (Pa.) (IUP) 6-2 in the first quarter and 11-1 in the second half, East Stroudsburg erased any bitter memories from a 12-6 loss to Slippery Rock in the driving rain on Wednesday with a dominant 19-6 neutral-site victory over IUP. Sadie Kauffman led the team in scoring with seven goals, while Ariana Tucci and Lauren Hallman added four and three to help bolster the Warrior offense. Abby Simonetti led the Warrior defense, making seven saves to improve to 3-1 on the year.
Kauffman is tied with Barnett for second in the league in scoring with 19 goals, while sitting in a tie atop the goals per game chart, also averaging 4.75 goals per contest. Kauffman has four assists to her name for 23 points, while Ariana Tucci is second in scoring with 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points on the season. Jolee Roth has been in and out of the starting lineup for ESU throughout the season but is third on the team in scoring with four goals and seven assists for 11 points.
In goal, Simonetti is 3-1 with an 8.50 goals-against average and a 56.4 % save percentage, registering 44 stops on 99 shots.
While No. 13 ESU is 3-1 on the year, the Warriors have to feel as if they have left goals on the table this year, going just 3-for-8 on free-position attempts. The Warriors are 58-of-66 on clear attempts and hold a 73-61 in turnovers and a 55-50 lead in draw controls, led by Kauffman’s 23 draw controls to start her rookie season.
