West Chester at Millersville
Game Details: April 12 I 12 P.M.
Location: Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 58-1 (W50)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
VILLE Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester remained unbeaten on Wednesday afternoon with a dominant 16-7 victory over Shippensburg at the Robb Sports Complex. West Chester held a slim 4-3 lead at the end of the first quarter but outscored its hosts 11-2 in the second and third to open up an insurmountable 15-5 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Keri Barnett scored a team-high six goals, while Sydney Wasdick added five goals and 10 draw controls to help West Chester overpower the upset-minded Raiders. West Chester ended the game with a 39-15 lead in sots, a 21-13 lead in turnovers, a 16-10 lead in draw controls, and a 22-13 lead in ground balls. Hannah Cornelius was victorious in goal once again, making six saves in 45 minutes of action, while Morgan Koons made one stop in the fourth quarter to finish out the victory.
Flock Talk
Barnett remains the team and PSAC’s leading scorer with 73 goals and 17 assists for 90 points this season. Barnett has also accumulated 50 draw controls and 19 ground balls while causing 28 turnovers. Wasdick is second on the team in scoring with 44 goals and four assists for 48 points, while Kendall Fortune is third on the team in scoring with 29 goals and 12 assists for 41 points. Wasdick also leads the team in draw controls with 71, while Kendall DiCamillo leads in ground balls with 26.
Koons and Cornelius have done an admirable job filling the void left by the graduation of multiple-time All-American Jessica Gorr. Cornelius is 8-0 with an 8.24 goals-against average after earning the start in six of eight games played this season. Koons earned her first win in relief of Cornelius against ESU earlier in the season on Vonnie Gros Field and secured her first start and complete-game win against Shippensburg a few Sundays ago before logging two more complete-game wins over Kutztown and Shepherd. With this, Koons is now 4-0 on the year with an 8.90 goals-against average in 378 minutes of action.
The Golden Rams hold a 280-202 lead in ground balls, a 252-169 lead in turnovers (156-85 in caused turnovers), and a 208-161 lead in draw controls. West Chester is also an impressive 202-for-220 (91.8 %) on its clear attempts, while holding opponents to a 166-for-223 (74.4 %) success rate on its clears.
Road Warriors
After opening the season on an eight-game homestand, West Chester has just one home game remaining on its calendar as the Golden Rams welcome Shepherd to Vonnie Gros Field on April 23 at 4 p.m. West Chester will play two more away from home before this game, visiting Shippensburg on Wednesday, Millersville on Saturday, and Kutztown next Wednesday before ending the regular season at Bloomsburg on April 26.
Rank and File
Ranked first in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Division II poll and second in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, West Chester remains the lone unbeaten team in Division II women’s lacrosse as the season enters its final weeks.
Power Surge
Outscoring opponents 217-103, West Chester is one of the top offensive units in Division II, averaging 18.9 goals per game with a +10.3 scoring margin on the year, both of which are the best in the PSAC and second and third best in Division II women’s lacrosse. Barnett is a big part of this high-powered attack as she has 73 goals this year, which is third best in the nation, averaging 6.1 per game, which is second best in DII, while her 7.5 points per game is also second best. Barnett averages 1.75 free-position goals per game, which is also the best in DII women’s lacrosse.
Series History
West Chester is 58-1 all-time against Millersville and is currently riding a 50-game winning streak against the Marauders. West Chester has not lost to Millersville since 1989 and has outscored the Marauders 61-27 over the last three games, including 22-11 at home earlier this season. Barnett played a major role in this 11-goal victory on Vonnie Gros, which saw West Chester erase an early deficit and open a big lead in the fourth as she scored 10 goals and added an assist for 11 points, along with five draw controls.
Scouting Millersville
Millersville enters play on Saturday on a two-game winning streak after defeating Shippensburg 14-13 on April 5 and Bloomsburg 17-7 on Wednesday afternoon. At Bloomsburg on Wednesday, Millersville held its hosts to just one goal in the first half, opening a 7-1 lead at the midway point and riding this advantage to a 10-goal victory over the Huskies. Kaleigh Funk and Ashlyn Simonetti led the team in scoring with five and four goals each, while Jodylynn Cadden and Ella Linthicum chipped in three goals each. KC O’Neill made 11 saves in 53 minutes to earn the victory.
Rachel Keeney, Simonetti, and Funk rank first, second, and third on the team in scoring this year with 50 (26 G, 24 A), 46 (36 G, 10 A), and 44 (32 G, 12 A) points, respectively. Mary Moracca leads the team in draw controls with 84, while Keeney is first in ground balls with 28, along with 20 caused turnovers. O’Neill is 8-4 in goal with an 11.67 goals-against average and a 39.9 % save percentage with 85 stops on the year.
As a team, Millersville is outscoring its opponents 168-135 on the season, averaging 30.5 shots per game with 24 free-position goals on 52 attempts. The Marauders also hold a 194-171 lead in turnovers, including a 112-94 lead in caused turnovers, along with a 203-141 lead in draw controls. Millersville is also 152-for-184 on clear attempts, posting an 82.6 % success rate, while its opponents are successful 76.6 % (157-of-205) of the time.
