Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Juniors Christine Bradley and Molly O'Hara combined for eight goals and five assists to lead East Stroudsburg University to a 17-12 win over Shippensburg in PSAC East lacrosse on Saturday afternoon at Whitenight Field.

The Warriors scored five of the game's final six goals to pull away from a 12-11 lead and improve to 7-2 on the season. ESU, Shippensburg and Bloomsburg all finish the first half of conference play with a 3-2 record, two games behind undefeated West Chester (9-0, 5-0), as the three schools fight for division's final two playoff spots.

Gayle Kuntzmann scored four goals to lead Shippensburg (5-4), which was coming off a 13-11 win over Bloomsburg on Wednesday. The Raiders trailed 9-5 before scoring the final two goals of the first half and ultimately got within one goal (12-11) with 9:47 remaining before the Warriors responded with a pair of quick goals to start a 5-0 run.

Bradley and O'Hara both had four goals, with Bradley adding three assists to tie her career-high with seven points and O'Hara picking up two assists. Bradley scored all four of her goals during the first half, including three on free position shots, and scored twice in a 21-second span to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead and ESU never trailed after the first 12 minutes of the game.

The Warriors were playing without junior Michelle Mangiaruga, their second-leading scorer (16 goals, six assists) entering the game, but Bradley and O'Hara both stepped up and senior Sara Foley scored three goals for her first career hat trick. Foley netted the Warriors' final two goals of the game for a comfortable 17-11 margin with 1:19 remaining.

ESU held a decisive 21-10 advantage in draw controls for the game, including a 13-4 edge in the first half. Bradley and junior Jamie Wesztergom both had five draw controls to help the Warriors gain possession, and they capitalized on six of their nine free position shots to stay in front.

Wesztergom and senior Lindsey Moyer both supplemented ESU's scoring with two goals and sophomores Kelsey Pfautz and Maure Perrymond scored a goal each. Perrymond also added an assist in her first career start.

Sophomore Amanda Simms made a career-high 12 saves for the Warriors, while her counterpart Meghan Kearney had six saves for Shippensburg. Simms had seven saves in the second half and ESU kept the Raiders off the scoreboard for 9:00 late in the game, from 9:47 when Ship got within 12-11 until Rachael Murray scored with 47 seconds remaining.

Bradley and O'Hara both continued their All-PSAC caliber seasons for ESU. O'Hara leads the Warriors with 24 goals and has all six of her assists in the last three games, while Bradley has 18 goals and 16 assists for a team-high 34 points and has posted 14 goals and 10 assists in the last five contests.

The Warriors start the second half of conference play on Tuesday at Bloomsburg in an important match-up. The Huskies (7-4, 3-2) won the first meeting this season, 13-5, on March 17 at Whitenight Field.