#5 West Chester vs. No. 11 Slippery Rock
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WEST CHESTER, PA – West Chester University's nationally ranked women's lacrosse squad takes the field for the first time in 2026 on Saturday afternoon at home at Vonnie Gros Field for a 1 p.m. showdown with another nationally ranked opponent in Slippery Rock University.
West Chester begins the campaign where it left off last spring against Slippery Rock. These two sides met in both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship game and the NCAA Atlantic Regional Final with the Golden Rams coming out on top in the conference final and The Rock claiming the regional title and advancing to the national semifinals.
Saturday's confrontation pits the preseason favorites in each division of the PSAC against one another as well. West Chester was slated to win the Eastern Division while Slippery Rock was picked to win the Western Division. The Golden Rams are ranked fifth in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll while The Rock is ranked 11th. West Chester ranks 3rd in the latest
US Lacrosse Magazine media poll while Slippery Rock comes in at No. 9.
Four Golden Rams appeared on US Lacrosse's preseason All-America listing while three players from The Rock were honored. WCU senior midfielder/attack
Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) was a first team selection, and senior midfielder
Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) was a second team pick while junior attacker
Kendall Fortune (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) was a third team recognition and senior defender
Natalie Goldsmith (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) was an honorable mention selection.
Wasdick is the Golden Rams' leading returning scorer after potting 65 goals and posting 74 points while also scooping up 119 draw controls a year ago. Edinger put up 51 points (35G, 16A) while handling the bulk of the draws in the circle. Fortune enjoyed a breakout season last spring with 50 goals and 67 points. Goldsmith is the Golden Rams top returning defender from a year ago when she grabbed 21 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers for the purple & gold.
Both Goldsmith and Edinger were selected as two of the team's four captains for the upcoming campaign. Wasdick was a second team US Lacrosse All-American last season while Edinger was an honorable mention selection as an All-American by
US Lacrosse Magazine last spring. Wasdick, Fortune and Edinger were named All-PSAC as well while Edinger took home PSAC Tournament MVP honors leading the Golden Rams to their third consecutive conference crown.
2026 PREVIEW
Two of the biggest questions surrounding the Golden Rams this spring will be in goal and around the circle on draws. Both were areas of concern for West Chester in 2025, and head coach
Ginny Martino is confident that those areas have been addressed.
Returning to the Golden Rams are
Hannah Cornelius (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and
Morgan Koons (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood). Both basically split time in the cage a year ago and bring that experience with them to the new season. Cornelius backstopped West Chester to a conference championship in 2025 and was the No. 1 keeper in the postseason, taking the purple & gold all the way to the regional final. Koons posted an unblemished 6-0 record in the cage while logging nearly 500 minutes of action. Martino noted that both goalies have returned with a lot of determination that has helped them improve their game.
Newcomer
Korrigan Sweeney (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) is a transfer from Division I Duquesne University. She saw action in nine games for the Dukes and made two starts. She is a tall goalkeeper, who takes up a lot of the cage and can create difficult shooting angles for the opposing attack. Freshman
Karyna Gonzalez (Parsippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) is the fourth goalkeeper on the roster. She has quick hands and can cover a lot of ground quickly.
In front of those four keepers is an experienced group with a lot of talent. Tri-captain,
Natalie Goldsmith (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) is one of four preseason All-Americans who will anchor the defense. Classmate
Lauren Rush (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) will be on that back line as well while another senior,
Kara Stewart (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spaulding) will see playing time in the back as well. The newest wrinkle to the defense will be freshman
Olivia Reinhart (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson), younger sister to former Golden Rams All-American defender Molly Reinhart ('20). Coach Martino will give Olivia an opportunity to step into her sister's role in the center on defense.
The midfield is where West Chester has some questions to answer. Seniors
Madeline Edinger (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and
Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) are the returning stars. Both were preseason All-America selections by
US Lacrosse and will be asked to lead a much younger group around them. Freshman
Ava Sheeran (Linwood, NJ Mainland Regional) as another new face in the midfield who will be expected to contribute.
Wasdick will handle the majority of the draws in the circle. The group outside the circle is where West Chester needs some of that youthful talent to step up. As Coach Martino put it, "Some of the midfielders will have to grow up fast." Freshman
Marissa Herring (Landenberg, Pa./Kennett Square) is one of those freshmen who have caught the eye of Martino in the preseason.
On attack, West Chester looks to be strong once again with the emergence of junior
Kendall Fortune (Jarrettsville, Md. North Harford). She had a breakout year and was the fourth and final preseason All-American for the Golden Rams. Senior
Lila McMahon-Skates (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) is another scoring threat up top. Fellow senior,
Amanda Wolfe (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) is another attacker with experience. Senior
Mia Bielhart (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) returns to the Golden Rams' roster after two years away from the program.
The Golden Rams have long looked to its midfield to support the offensive effort and this spring will be no different. Many of the midfielders have the ability to create and score from the top of the fan. Martino mentioned that there are a plethora of options open to find the right mix up top and around the circle to pick up ground balls on the draws.
Saturday will be West Chester's first opportunity to see some of the young players in action as well as the group of goalkeepers in the cage.
