PHOTO GALLERY
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The game's most valuable player, Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), 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 at water-logged Vonnie Gros Field Sunday afternoon.
West Chester (17-0) claimed its 27th conference crown overall and third consecutive title with a stellar effort over the final 30 minutes of the campaign. Slippery Rock (16-2), 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.
"They were composed," head coach Ginny Martino said afterwards. "They played with a lot of poise. They showed a lot of grit to battle back. We took care of the little things that we had trouble with in the first half and kept chipping away. I'm really proud of them for that."
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.
"That's the thing about great teams," Martino added. "If a team shuts down our top scorer, then you have others who rise to the occasion. That was certainly true today. There were times they had a face-guard on (Edinger), and she found a way.
"Slippery Rock played one heck of a game. They were swarming us on defense everywhere we went."
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 (Medford, N.J./Shawnee). 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.
"(Hannah) saved her best performance of the year for today," Martino gleamed with pride. "She had a really great warmup. To see her rise up in the biggest game of her life so far was truly a blessing. She played lights-out, and we needed her to do that."
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 (Glenolden, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), 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 (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) also scored four goals on the afternoon to extend her total to 64 on the season. Kendall Fortune (Jarrettsville, Pa./North Harford) finished with two goals and one assist while Audrey Miller (Wilson, Pa./Sinking Spring, Pa.) added one goal and two assists. Lila McMahon Skates (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) added a pair of assists. Piper Hammond (Tucson, Ariz./Southridge [Ore.]) scored the other goal for West Chester.
The Golden Rams will find out when their season continues at 8:30 p.m. tonight when the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse field is announced. West Chester receives the automatic bid to the tournament as a result of winning the conference title. Slippery Rock, ranked second in the final regional poll last week, should see their season continue as well. The Golden Rams were the top-ranked school in the final rankings last Wednesday and should be the home team for the NCAA Tournament regional playoffs.
