WEST CHESTER, PA – West Chester scored a pair of goals in the second quarter and made that lead hold up as the fifth-ranked Golden Rams held on for a 2-1 victory over visiting East Stroudsburg at a soggy and wet Vonnie Gros Field Tuesday afternoon.
 
West Chester (5-0) remained unbeaten on the season while handing East Stroudsburg (6-1) its first loss of the 2026 campaign. The contest was a non-conference affair. The two sides will play their conference match later in October.
 
The hosts struck first in the 17th minute when Gianna Funari's (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace) shot off a rebound on the right wing just snuck inside the far post and found the back of the net.
 
Six minutes later, Anna Finn (Windsor, N.Y./Windsor) notched her team-leading seventh of the season off a penalty corner opportunity. Her blast rocketed past ESU goalkeeper Sydney Pope off an insert from Laura Rogers (Delmar, Del./Delmar) and stopper Sofia Brown (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara).
 
That's how things stood until about four minutes into the second half when ESU's high-scoring forward, Rylie McGrath, was sent in on a breakaway and chipped a shot over West Chester's charging goalkeeper, Erin O'Brien (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee), and into an open net to cut the Golden Rams' lead in half. It was McGrath's seventh tally on the year.
 
Fortunately, for the home team, that is how things would stay. O'Brien made five saves while picking up her fifth win of the season. Pope made one save in the first half, allowing both West Chester markers. Jet Vermeulen relieved her at halftime and made two saves without allowing a goal.
 
West Chester hits the road to South Carolina over the weekend with a game on Friday against national runner-up, Newberry, before taking on Converse on Sunday.