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BLOOMSBURG - Junior midfielder Desiraye Mack scored two goals and East Stroudsburg University posted a dominating 6-2 win vs. West Chester to advance to the NCAA Division II field hockey championship game on Friday afternoon at Bloomsburg University.

ESU (18-3) advances to play Merrimack (16-5) in the championship game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Merrimack advanced with a 1-0 win vs. Stonehill in the first semifinal on Friday.

ESU led 4-1 at halftime to earn its third straight win against West Chester (17-5) this season. The Warriors won 4-0 in the regular season on September 26, and 3-1 in the PSAC semifinals on November 6, both at Whitenight Field.

Senior midfielder Rebecca Snyder scored ESU's first goal 2:36 into the game and Mack scored 12:35 into the contest to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead. After West Chester's Alexis Versak scored at 19:47, ESU added two more goals - by senior forward Ally Roth and freshman midfielder Paige Harrold - for a 4-1 halftime lead.

Mack and junior forward Marisa Miro scored within two minutes midway through the second half for a 6-1 lead, before West Chester's Rachal Toppi finished the scoring with just under 12 minutes left.

ESU advances to the national championship game for the second time in program history and the first time since 2001, falling to Bentley, 4-2, after a 1-0 win vs. Lock Haven in the semifinals.

ESU and Merrimack will both play for their first-ever national title on Sunday.

The Warriors hold a 5-2 advantage vs. Merrimack in the all-time series and won the most recent meeting, 3-2, in 2013. The PSAC has won 20 of the 23 NCAA DII championships since 1992.

Mack's goals give her 12 on the season and 15 in her career at ESU after being named to the All-PSAC first team this season.

Roth recorded her 20th goal of the season and the 73rd of her career, extending her school record. She ranks ninth in PSAC history and 13th in DII history in career goals, and ninth in PSAC history and 14th in DII history in career points (170).

Snyder's goal to open the game was her sixth of the season for the All-PSAC second team selection. Harrold, a freshman, has scored three of her four career goals vs. West Chester, finding the cage in all three games.

Miro added ESU's final goal, her sixth of the season and the 10th of her career, on the fourth assist of the season by McCarthy.

McCarthy was recognized as the NCAA DII Elite 90 Award recipient on Thursday night as the student-athlete with the top GPA at the championship site. McCarthy, an Exercise Science major, carries a 4.0 grade-point average through 28 credits.

ESU had an 18-9 advantage in shots, scoring on four of its seven shots in the first half, and a 12-5 margin in penalty corners.

Junior goalkeeper Danielle Ard had four saves for the Warriors. Sarah Krause had five saves for West Chester in 52:06, while the Golden Rams played the other 17:54, including the final 12 minutes, with an empty cage.

West Chester was in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year since reclassifying to DII in 2011. The Golden Rams won national titles in 2011 and 2012.

The victory gives ESU its second-ever field hockey regional title. ESU women's soccer won its Atlantic Region title with a 2-0 victory vs. Edinboro (at Bridgeport) earlier Friday.

GAME NOTES
* ESU sets the school record with its 18th win. The Warriors won 17 games in 1995 (17-4) and 2010 (17-6).

* ESU dealt West Chester 3 of its 5 losses this season, after the Golden Rams won the last 9 meetings since reclassifying to DII prior to the 2011 season.
* ESU outscored WCU 13-3 this season; WCU had a 73-22 goal differential its other 19 games.

* ESU is ranked No. 1 in the most recent NFHCA DII poll.
* ESU was ranked No. 6 in the NFHCA DII preseason poll and was picked 4th in the PSAC preseason poll (won first-ever PSAC tournament title, shared PSAC regular season title with Millersville at 9-1).

* ESU entered the tournament ranked 2nd in DII in scoring defense (0.74 gaa) and 4th in scoring offense (3.0 per game).
* West Chester entered ranked 2nd in DII in scoring offense (3.52 per game) and 10th in scoring defense (1.32 gaa).

* Merrimack, ESU's opponent Sunday, is 5th in scoring offense (2.90) and 8th in scoring defense (1.29). Merrimack blanked Stonehill's Erika Kelly (98 career goals - 2nd in DII history) on Friday.


ESU NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
1971 - Men's Tennis
1972 - Men's Soccer
1973 - Men's Soccer
1997 - Men's Soccer
2000 - Men's Soccer
2001 - Field Hockey
2002 - Men's Soccer
2005 - Football
2015 - Field Hockey
2015 - Women's Soccer

ESU NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Archery (U.S. Intercollegiate)
1975 - Mixed
1976-77 - Men

Men's Gymnastics (NCAA DII)
1983, 1984