EAST STROUDSBURG, PA – West Chester University's women's lacrosse team visits East Stroudsburg on Wednesday afternoon for a showdown with the Warriors at Whitenight Field at 3 p.m.
West Chester enters the contest ranked 10th in the IWLCA and 9th in
U.S. Lacrosse Magazine while East Stroudsburg enters at No. 9 in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 4 in the media poll. It is one of three matchups in Division II this week between two programs ranked in the Top 10 of the IWLCA coaches' poll.
IWLCA Top 10 Matchups This Week
#10 West Chester at #9 East Stroudsburg (Wedndesday, March 25) 3 pm
#4 Tampa at #8 Lynn (Wednesday, March 25) 4 pm
#2 Florida Southern at #8 Lynn (Saturday, March 28) 6 pm
This rivalry between the top two programs in the PSAC Eastern Division has seen West Chester control the regular season encounters while East Stroudsburg has controlled the postseason showdowns. The Golden Rams have won the last seven regular-season contests with the Warriors. West Chester has not lost to East Stroudsburg in the regular season since 2022. ESU is 4-1 against WCU in the last five postseason meetings.
The Golden Rams are also 5-2 against the Warriors in East Stroudsburg, Pa., dating back to 2021.
McMAHON-SKATES AND KAUFFMAN SHARE OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
West Chester senior attacker,
Lila McMahon-Skates (West Linn, Ore./West Linn), was named co-offensive athlete of the week in the Eastern Division by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tuesday afternoon. McMahon-Skates shared the honor with East Stroudsburg attacker Sadie Kauffman.
McMahon-Skates scored six goals and assisted on eight others for a total of 14 points in West Chester's two wins last week. McMahon-Skates scored three times and assisted on three others while scooping up four ground balls and causing one turnover in a win over No. 15 Kutztown on Wednesday. She then scored three more times at Shepherd on the weekend and added five assists for an eight-point game. The team co-captain runs the "X" behind the cage and currently leads the team in assists and is second in goals scored.
West Chester's high-scoring attacker joins fellow attacker,
Sydney Wasdick (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove), as the Golden Rams' weekly honorees. Wasdick was offensive athlete of the week in Week 2. Kauffman earned her third offensive athlete of the week award this season. This is McMahon-Skates' first weekly citation in her four-year college career.
McMahon-Skates and Kauffman faceoff on Wednesday afternoon at Whitenight Field at 3 p.m. in a battle of two Top 10 programs. The two will also meet towards the end of the season in West Chester on April 22.
WEST CHESTER LAST TIME OUT …
Kendall Fortune and
Sydney Wasdick each scored four goals, and Lila McMahon-Skates finished with a game-high eight points as visiting West Chester downed homestanding Shepherd, 20-6, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Saturday afternoon.
West Chester won its seventh straight contest, following a season-opening loss, while Shepherd fell to 1-6 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
The Golden Rams opened the tilt with six straight goals and never looked back. Wasdick powered that spurt with a pair of goals and an assist. A seven-goal run through much of the third and beginning of the fourth put the game away. Fortune scored three of her four tallies during that run.
EAST STROUDSBURG NOTES …
The ESU women's lacrosse team got another boost in the national rankings this week, moving up to fourth and ninth in polls from USA Lacrosse and the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaching Association (IWLCA).
The Warriors were previously ranked 10th by IWLCA, the official poll used for team rankings, jumping Saint Leo to move up one spot. ESU moved ahead of Maryville and Indianapolis to improve from sixth to fourth, trailing only Flagler, Florida Southern, and Slippery Rock.
ESU is one of four remaining undefeated teams in Division II, winning all nine of its contests this season. The Warriors are in the midst of their second-best winning streak to open a season and third-longest overall in program history. ESU has dominated its opponents, scoring 20 goals or more four times while keeping each of its opponents below 10 goals. The Warriors have the best average margin of victory in Division II, winning their games by 13.6 GPG as they've scored 19.1 GPG and allowed 5.5 GPG.
NEXT UP FOR WCU …
West Chester returns home Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. start against Bloomsburg at Vonnie Gros Field.
