Box Score

WEST CHESTER - No. 15-ranked East Stroudsburg University will play for the No. 1 seed in next week's PSAC women's lacrosse tournament on Saturday after the Warriors (14-2, 10-1) upended No. 12 West Chester, 17-12, for their ninth straight win on Wednesday afternoon.

ESU, which claimed at least a share of the PSAC regular season title after being picked fifth in the PSAC preseason poll, won the draw control battle 21-10 and had big offensive games from a number of players - including junior midfielder Chessie Rahmer (4 goals, 1 assist), senior midfielder Emily Fitzsimmons (3 goals, 3 assists), sophomore attack TJ Jefferis (3 goals) and freshman midfielder Hana Cicerelle (3 goals).

Sophomore midfielder Emma Rufolo had one goal, two assists and 11 draw controls. Rahmer added five and Jefferis had four, giving ESU a significant amount of possession against the Golden Rams (11-4, 8-3).

The Warriors host No. 19 IUP (10-5, 9-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Whitenight Field. The winner will be the PSAC's No. 1 seed and earn the right to host the PSAC semifinals and championship game (May 5 and May 7). ESU has already gained at least the No. 2 seed and a first round bye for their first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2011.

ESU's win is its first vs. West Chester since 2003 and just the third in school history. The Warriors continued to extend their school records for wins (14) and winning streak (9), winning all nine of their games in April after a 12-10 loss at Slippery Rock in their second PSAC game. Four of the nine wins are against nationally-ranked opponents.

Earlier Wednesday, ESU remained No. 6 in this week's NCAA Division II South Region rankings which will set the NCAA Tournament field. The top six teams in both the North and South regions will advance to the NCAA Tournament following the conclusion of regular season and conference postseason action.

Freshman goalkeeper Tatyana Petteway, the NCAA DII leader in save percentage (.564) made 10 saves for the Warriors. WCU goalkeeper Nicole Martins made seven saves.

ESU led 12-6 at halftime and extended it to 14-6 in the first 10 minutes of the second half - going on a 10-1 run in a 20-minute stretch. West Chester got as close as 15-11 with 5:51 left.

WCU held a 5-4 lead past the midpoint of the first half before ESU's barrage. A four-goal run in just over three minutes made it 8-5 with 8:20 left, and after a WCU goal, the Warriors scored four more to end the half.

Rahmer scored all four of her goals in the first half, including a man-down goal with 1:28 left to close the first half scoring.

Sophomore attack Brooke Fritz had two goals and one assist, freshman attack Cassidy McKenna scored and junior midfielder Alicia Stratten added an assist for the Warriors.

Kristen Vath scored four goals and four players scored two goals each for West Chester, including senior Ashley Pyle, who entered second in the PSAC in points per game (37 goals, 25 assists).

WCU senior attack Dina Cifelli, third in the PSAC in points per game and first in assists (49 - 3.5 per game), was held without a point.

Six players accounted for ESU's 12 first-half goals after Rahmer scored two of the first three. West Chester scored three straight to lead 4-3, Fitzsimmons scored her first to tie it and WCU took its final lead on a free position goal by Emily Schulze with 12:44 left in the first half.

ESU's 10-1 run started with a free position goal by Cicerelle, followed by two goals by Fritz in just over a minute and a free position goal by Rahmer for an 8-5 lead.

Fitzsimmons had a hand in three of the four goals to close the half. She scored to make it 9-6 with 6:26 left in the half, Jefferis scored the first of her three on a Fitzsimmons assist just 13 seconds later, Cicerelle scored and Fitzsimmons set up Rahmer's fourth (a man down chance) late in the half.

Cicerelle scored on a free position and McKenna scored unassisted to make it 14-6 with 21:29 remaining.

WCU scored five of the next six to close within 15-11 with 5:51 left. Jefferis had a pair of key goals - ending a 3-0 run on an assist by Rufolo, and an unassisted goal with 4:23 remaining for a 16-11 lead.

Fitzsimmons sealed the victory with her third goal of the game, assisted by Fritz, with 1:12 left.

Both teams had 31 shots, but ESU's +10 margin in draw controls and Petteway's 10 saves made a big difference in the flow of the game.

Rahmer's four goals extend her team lead to 40. Jefferis hit the 30-goal mark, Rufolo has 29, Fitzsimmons 26, senior attack Lauren Green 22 and Cicerelle and Fritz 20 each as part of a balanced attack. Rahmer (49), Green (47), Jefferis (46) and Rufolo (42) are all approaching the 50-pointmark.

ESU will recognize four seniors - Fitzsimmons, Green and defenders Bethany Cunningham and Kerry Mulcahy - prior to Saturday's 2 p.m. start vs. IUP.


NCAA DII Regional Rankings (records through Sunday, April 23)

South
1. Lindenwood (Mo.) - 17-0 overall, 17-0 in-region
2. Florida Southern - 17-2, 14-1
3. Florida Tech - 12-2, 9-2
4. Queens (N.C.) - 14-3, 13-3
5. Rollins - 12-4, 8-4
6. East Stroudsburg - 13-2, 13-2
7. Regis (Colo.) - 14-1, 13-1
8. Limestone - 15-3, 15-3

North
1. Le Moyne - 14-0, 14-0
2. Adelphi - 13-1, 12-1
3. LIU Post - 11-2, 11-2
4. New Haven - 11-3, 11-3
5. NYIT - 14-1, 14-1
6. Tiffin - 11-3, 11-3
7. Mercy - 13-2, 13-2