West Chester at Shepherd
Game Details: March 29 I 1 P.M.
Location: Shepherdstown, W.V.
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 7-0
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Shepherd Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester enters play after a thrilling 14-13 win over No. 14/18 Kutztown on Wednesday afternoon thanks to a late free-position goal by Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), which gave the Golden Rams a one-goal lead with under 30 seconds to play. West Chester did not take its first lead of the game until midway through the second and never led or trailed by more than two goals as the Golden Rams and Golden Bears delivered everything fans could hope for in a great showdown between two top-20 teams. West Chester outscored Kutztown 5-3 in the second to erase a two-goal first quarter deficit and 4-3 in the fourth to hold off the upset-minded Golden Bears and complete an unbeaten homestand. Edinger’s free-position goal was her lone tally of the day, as Keri Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) each scored five goals. Barnett also contributed two assists for a team-best seven points. Edinger and Barnett led the team in draw controls with five and four, respectively. Morgan Koons (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) was sharp in goal, making a career-best 10 saves for her third victory of the season.
Flock Talk
Barnett remains first on the team in scoring with 45 goals and 11 assists for 56 points this season. Barnett is tied for first in the PSAC in goals this year and first in the league in goals per game, averaging 5.63, while also accumulating 33 draw controls, 15 ground balls, and 21 caused turnovers. Piper Hammond (Tucson, Ariz/Southridge) is first in ground balls with 20. Kendall Fortune (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) is second on the team in scoring with 22 goals and 10 assists for 32 points, while Wasdick is second in goals with 27 on the season, also leading the team in draw controls with 37. Edinger and Lila McMahon Skates (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) have also provided good depth for head coach Ginny Martino’s squad this year, scoring 11 and 12 goals, respectively, along with seven and eight assists for 18 and 20 points on the year.
West Chester is 29-for-60 (48.3%) on free positions this year, while its opponents are 14-for-26 (53.8 %) through eight games. The Golden Rams also hold a 194-136 lead in ground balls, a 161-113 lead in turnovers (106-57 in caused turnovers), and a 139-107 lead in draw controls. West Chester is also 139-for-152 (91.4 %) on its clear attempts, while the Golden Rams ride holds opponents to a 71.3 % (107-for-150) success rate.
Filling The Shoes
Koons and Cornelius have done an admirable job filling the void left by the graduation of multiple-time All-American Jessica Gorr. Cornelius is 5-0 with an 8.64 goals-against average after earning the start in the first five games of the season. Koons earned her first win in relief of Cornelius vs ESU earlier in the month and got her first start and complete-game win against Shippensburg two Sundays ago before logging another complete-game win over Kutztown this week. With this, Koons is now 3-0 on the year with an 8.85 goals-against average in 258 minutes of action.
This is Different
Saturday will be the Golden Rams' first road game of the season, after starting the campaign with an unprecedented eight straight home games, beginning with its season opener against Roberts Wesleyan on February 22. West Chester has not played away from home since May 12 of last year, when the team won the PSAC Championship over Kutztown by a 12-11 final in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, at Seton Hill. West Chester was a perfect 9-0 away from home last season.
Rank and File
The Golden Rams continued their ascent in the Division II women’s lacrosse rankings last week, rising to second in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll while maintaining third place in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Division II rankings for another week. West Chester already earned one win over a nationally ranked foe this week, as Kutztown entered play ranked 14th in the IWLCA poll and 18th in the USA Lacrosse rankings.
Flexing the Muscle
Despite needing a late goal to escape with a 14-13 victory over Kutztown on Wednesday, West Chester’s offense made a habit of dominating opponents this season as the Golden Rams enter play outscoring teams 151-70 through the first eight games of the season.
Series History
West Chester is undefeated against Shepherd, with a perfect 7-0 record dating back to the first meeting between the two teams in March 2021. West Chester has won every game by at least nine goals, including a 20-5 victory in West Chester last April.
Scouting Shepherd
Shepherd (4-4, 1-2) enters play riding a two-game losing streak after falling to Bloomsburg (13-11) and Millersville (10-7) in PSAC East clashes on Saturday and Wednesday afternoon. Saturday’s game is the middle game of a three-game homestand for Shepherd as the Rams opened it with a loss to Millersville and will conclude its vs Shippensburg next Wednesday afternoon.
Against Millersville, Katie Paredes scored five of seven goals, but Shepherd was unable to overcome a one-goal first and a scoreless third quarter in a 10-7 setback to the resurgent Marauders. The two teams were tied at 1-1 after the first before Millersville outscored its hosts 6-3 in the second and 2-0 in the third to take a commanding 9-4 lead into the fourth. Shepherd outscored Millersville 3-1 in the fourth as Paredes scored two of her five goals on the day during this stretch, but it was not enough to come all the way back in the three-goal loss. Destiny Rockwell got the start in goal for Shepherd and made 12 saves but yielded 10 goals in the loss. Shepherd was just 6-for-20 on draw controls and 15-of-23 on clear attempts as the Marauders were able to get a number of extra and short-field possessions against the Ram defense throughout the afternoon.
At .500 on the year, Shepherd enters play outscoring teams by a slim 94-86 margin, with 16 of those 94 goals coming on free positions. The Rams are 16-of-35 (45.7%) on such attempts. Paredes is having an excellent season for Shepherd, leading the team in scoring with 26 goals and 16 assists for 42 points, while Kesley King has 23 goals and six assists for 29 points. Holly Poe is third in scoring with 18 goals and three assists, while Aubrey Harrison is fourth with 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points. In goal, Rockwell has kept her team in games this season, posting a record of 4-4 with a 10.72 goals-against average and a 53.0 % (97 saves) save percentage.
Shepherd holds a slim 190-171 lead over its opponents in ground balls and an even slimmer 173-172 lead in turnovers, with a 97-73 advantage in caused turnovers. Shepherd’s opponents do hold a 110-97 lead in draw controls. Shepherd is 116-for-153 (75.8 %) on its clear attempts this season, while opponents are 116-for-142 (81.7 %).
