West Chester, Pa.- The No. 1/2 West Chester University women's lacrosse team (14-0,10-0 PSAC East) is preparing to return to action on Wednesday afternoon at home vs Shepherd (4-10, 1-9) in the last home game of the regular season, beginning at 4 p.m. This matchup features the Morgan's Message and Lax 4 Life charities. The Golden Rams will finish up the regular season against Bloomsburg on Saturday.
West Chester at Kutztown
Game Details: Wednesday, April 23 I 4 P.M.
Location: Vonnie Gros Field
Coverage Links: Live Stats I
Video
Series: 8-0 (W8)
WCU Links: NEWS I
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SHEP Links: NEWS I
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Postseason Outlook; PSAC East Champs; NCAA Rankings
The Golden Rams wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and will receive a bye in the quarterfinals of the postseason tournament while hosting the semifinals and conference championship game at Vonnie Gros Field on Friday, May 2 and Sunday, May 4, respectively. It marks the third straight year in which the Golden Rams have won the Eastern Division and the sixth time overall in the seven years that the PSAC has split into divisions.
West Chester appeared among the top eight ranked schools in the NCAA Atlantic Region poll last Wednesday. Last week's initial poll was an alphabetical listing of the schools in consideration to be ranked. This week's poll, due to be released sometime Wednesday afternoon, will rank the schools in order 1 through 8. The top six schools appearing in the final regional rankings will be selected for the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse National Tournament.
Last Time Out
West Chester remained unbeaten last Wednesday afternoon with 18-13 victory over then-No. 14 Kutztown at Keystone Field. West Chester got out to a fast start with a 4-1 advantage after the first quarter. The Golden Bears tried to fight back, but were outscored again in the second 6-4. In the second half, both teams remained even in scoring with four a piece in each quarter.
Keri Barnett (Glenolden, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) finished with six goals and 10 total points on the afternoon.
Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) had a great afternoon as well, scoring four goals in the matchup
. Lila McMahon-Skates (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) finished with a hat trick and an assist for four points.
Sydney Wasdick (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) scored twice and assisted on two others
. Audrey Miller (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) finished with a goal and an assist to round out the offense.
West Chester ended the game with a dominant 23-12 advantage on draws and a 28-17 lead in ground balls.
Hannah Cornelius (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) was victorious in goal once again, making five saves in 60 minutes of action. This brings her record to 10-0 on the season in cage.
Dominant Effort
Barnett remains the team and PSAC's leading scorer with 85 goals and 22 assists for 107 points this season. Barnett has also accumulated 61 draw controls and 26 ground balls while causing 40 turnovers. Wasdick is second on the team in scoring with 49 goals and six assists for 55 points, while
Kendall Fortune is third on the team in scoring with 33 goals and 13 assists for 45 points. Wasdick also leads the team in draw controls with 81, while
Kendall DiCamillo leads in ground balls with 42. Wasdick sits at 97 career goals in her first two seasons at West Chester.
In goal, Cornelius advances to 10-0 on the season with a 8.82 goals-against average after earning the start in nine of ten 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 326-232 lead in ground balls, a182-106 advantage in caused turnovers, and a 247-186 lead in draw controls. West Chester is also an impressive 236-for-262 (90.1%) on its clear attempts, while holding opponents to a 205-for-267 (76.8 %) success rate on its clears.
Holding Firm
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.
Offensive Powerhouse
Outscoring opponents 263-124, West Chester is one of the top offensive units in Division II, averaging 18.8 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. Barnett averages 1.92 free-position goals per game, which is also the best in DII.
Series History
West Chester is 8-0 all-time against Shepherd and is currently riding an eight-game winning streak against the Rams. In the matchup between these two conference rivals earlier in th year, Barnett led the scoring with eight goals and Wasdick played a major role, scoring six of her own. Edinger had four assists on the day, springing some life into the offense.
Scouting Shepherd
Shepherd is coming off a home loss to Bloomsburg Saturday, falling to the Husky's, 21-12. They were led by Katie Paredes, who scored three goals, including the 100th of her career. Supporting Parades, attackers Kelsey King, Holly Poe, Aubrey Harrison, and freshman Katherine Stevenson each tallied a pair of goals.
In goal, Destiny Rockwell recorded five saves in the loss. The defense was led by Sydney Witmer with defense ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers. Shepherd led the game in shots, 36-30, in ground balls, 30-23, and a narrow edge in draw controls, 19-17.
Up Next
West Chester will finish out its regular season at Bloomsburg this Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. at Steph Pettit Stadium. The Golden Rams, who wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) receive a bye in the quarterfinals of the postseason tournament and will host the semifinals and conference championship game at Vonnie Gros Field on Friday, May 2 and Sunday, May 4, respectively.
