West Chester Hosts Slippery Rock in NCAA Quarterfinal Saturday Afternoon

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WEST CHESTER, PA – For the seventh year in a row, and 10th time overall since the Division II Tournament expanded, West Chester University's women's lacrosse squad will play in the quarterfinal round with a spot in the national semifinals on the line Saturday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field when Slippery Rock invades South Campus for a 3 p.m. faceoff against the Golden Rams.
 
No. 1/2 West Chester (19-0) hosts No. 7/12 Slippery Rock (17-2) for the second time in the last two weeks. These two sides met for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship on May 4 at Vonnie Gros in a game won by West Chester, 17-11.
 
The Golden Rams are 4-5 in the quarterfinals in their previous nine appearances in this round dating back to 2009 when the postseason expanded from four teams to six. West Chester is familiar with this scene. Last May, East Stroudsburg defeated the Golden Rams, who where undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, 13-12, to advance to the national semifinals.
 
The purple & gold have fought hard to get back to this place only this time the opponent is different. East Stroudsburg beat West Chester in the quarterfinals in 2021, 2022 and 2024 while the Golden Rams took the quarterfinal encounter with the Warriors in 2023. Saturday, Slippery Rock makes its first appearance in the quarterfinals looking to avenge that loss to the Golden Rams two weeks ago.

LAST TIME THESE TWO FACED …
The game's most valuable player, Madeline Edinger, scored three of her game-high five goals in the third quarter as host West Chester pulled away from visiting Slippery Rock for an eventual 17-11 victory in the 2025 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Game.

West Chester claimed its 27th conference crown overall and third consecutive title with a stellar effort over the final 30 minutes of the campaign. Slippery Rock, playing in its first conference championship game, frustrated the Golden Rams for much of the  first half, dominating on draw controls and scooping up most of the ground balls while holding one of the top scoring offenses in the nation to just six goals at halftime.

The Rock went on a 6-1 run early on, before Edinger sparked a 4-0 run for the hosts to reclaim the lead, 8-6, at the break.

Edinger potted back-to-back goals late in the third quarter as West Chester started winning more draws and spending more time in the offensive end. The Golden Rams outscored The Rock, 5-2 in the third and 9-5 in the second half altogether.

Not lost in all of the excitement of scoring 17 goals and winning another championship was the play of West Chester's defense, in particular, its goalkeeper sophomore Hannah Cornelius. She went the distance in the cage and made a career-high eight saves to backstop the Golden Rams to the crown. She single-handedly kept them in the game in the first half when West Chester was playing defense for long stretches of time.

West Chester stymied Slippery Rock's attack – especially in the second half. The Golden Rams harassed The Rock into 20 turnovers on the day and limited them to just 10 shots in the second half.
 
Keri Barnett, typically the offensive catalyst, played a huge role defensively in the contest. She was credited with four caused turnovers, giving her 53 on the season and moving into first place in the PSAC in that category. Coupled with her four goals on the afternoon and team-best six points, Barnett now leads the PSAC in both scoring (105 goals and 133 points) AND caused turnovers. Rarely do you see an individual cover a scoresheet in so many categories as Barnett has this spring. Her 53 caused turnovers is currently fourth in a single season at WCU and eighth in the PSAC.

Sydney Wasdick also scored four goals on the afternoon to extend her total to 64 on the season. Kendall Fortune finished with two goals and one assist while Audrey Miller added one goal and two assists. Lila McMahon Skates added a pair of assists. Piper Hammond scored the other goal for West Chester.

ALL-AMERICANS ...
West Chester University women's lacrosse was well represented when US Lacrosse Magazine released its Division II All-America list on Friday morning. Four Golden Rams were named to one of the three teams selected by staff and contributors.
 
Senior attack Keri Barnett and senior defender Kendall DiCamillo were each named to the first team while fellow attacker, junior Sydney Wasdick, was a second team pick and junior midfielder, Madeline Edinger, was an honorable mention.
 
Barnett, in the midst of an unprecedented season at West Chester with 111 goals and 142 points, was named the Athlete of the Year in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division earlier this month and took home IWLCA All-Atlantic Region honors earlier this week. She is shattering just about every record in the book on the school and conference level. She is currently second in the NCAA in goals scored and third in points as well. In addition to her gaudy attack statistics, Barnett also leads the PSAC in caused turnovers and has 77 draw controls and 42 ground balls. Nobody fills out a scoresheet in so many different categories quite like Barnett has done this spring. Barnett makes her second appearance on the US Lacrosse Magazine All-America squad. She was a second team pick in 2023.
 
DiCamillo was a first-team All-PSAC East pick earlier this month and an IWLCA All-Atlantic Region selection earlier this week as well. She is the glue that holds together one of the country's top defensive units this spring. West Chester's defense ranks in the Top 20 in Division II in scoring defense and is third in the nation in scoring margin. DiCamillo leads the team with 60 ground balls and is second on the team in caused turnovers with 36. She even scored a goal this season. This is DiCamillo's first selection to the US Lacrosse Magazine All-America squad.
 
Wasdick earns her first All-America plaudit with her selection to the second team. She finished second on the squad in both goals scored (64) and points (71) while leading the team in draw controls (117). Wasdick also collected 44 ground balls on the year and has really stepped up to play an integral role both on offense and inside the faceoff circle where she takes many of the team's draws.
 
Edinger, a second-team All-PSAC East selection as well as the PSAC Tournament most valuable player, has enjoyed another solid campaign and has been lighting up the scoreboard for West Chester all spring while also scooping up draw controls all over the field. She makes her first appearance on the all-region squad this year. Edinger has 34 goals, two shy of her single-season high, and 50 points. She is closing in on 100 career goals. She needs just six more to hit the century mark this season. Edinger has also added 46 draw controls and 25 ground balls to her credit. This is Edinger's first appearance on a US Lacrosse Magazine All-America squad.