Box Score  l  PSAC Tournament home page

Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG - Junior midfielder Chessie Rahmer had four goals and an assist, freshman goalkeeper Tatyana Petteway made 11 saves and No. 15-ranked East Stroudsburg University secured the No. 1 seed in next week's PSAC Tournament with a 16-8 win over No. 19 IUP on Saturday afternoon at Whitenight Field.

Senior midfielder Emily Fitzsimmons had three goals and an assist, senior attack Lauren Green had one goal and five assists and junior midfielder Alicia Stratten, sophomore midfielder Emma Rufolo and freshman midfielder Hana Cicerelle all had two goals and an assist for the Warriors (15-2, 11-1), who extended their school-record winning streak to 10 games.

ESU will host the PSAC semifinals on Friday, May 5 and the PSAC championship game on Sunday, May 7.

The Warriors won their first outright PSAC regular season title in program history after being picked fifth in the PSAC preseason poll. They are looking for their first-ever PSAC tournament championship next week.

ESU held a 40-20 advantage in shots despite a 15-11 margin for IUP (10-6, 9-3) in draw controls.

The Warriors, which have put together a balanced attack that features seven players who have at least 20 goals and 30 points this spring, have tied a school record with 232 goals this season.

Sophomore attack TJ Jefferis and freshman attack Cassidy McKenna both scored and sophomore attack Brooke Fritz added an assist for the Warriors.

Rahmer had five of ESU's 16 caused turnovers, with ESU forcing a 24-15 edge in turnovers in the contest. She also had four ground balls and three caused turnovers, and Fitzsimmons had two caused turnovers and five ground balls. Rufolo added one caused turnovers, four ground balls and two draw controls.

Petteway, the NCAA Division II leader in save percentage (.556), held IUP to 0-for-4 on free position shots when the Warriors were threatened.

It was 2-2 through 12 minutes before ESU went on a prolonged 12-3 stretch in a span of more than 30 minutes to take a 14-5 lead with less than 15 minutes remaining.

The Warriors used a 4-0 run to pull away from the 2-2 tie, getting goals from Jefferis (from Green), Rufolo (from Fitzsimmons), Fitzsimmons on a free position and McKenna (from Rufolo) to lead 6-2 with 10:31 left in the first half.

IUP scored twice, but the Warriors got the next three - two by Cicerelle, and Rufolo from Green - before IUP scored with two seconds left in the first half to make it 9-5 at intermission.

ESU extended its lead with five straight goals to start the second half. Rahmer scored three times in the stretch, starting it on an assist from Green and following with an unassisted goal. Stratten scored, assisted by Cicerelle, Rahmer scored from Green and Green scored from Rahmer.

IUP got three straight to pull within 14-8, but the Warriors put it away on goals by Fitzsimmons and Stratten (from Green) to seal the victory.

The Warriors honored their four seniors - Fitzsimmons, Green and defenders Bethany Cunningham (3 caused turnovers, 1 ground ball) and Kerry Mulcahy (1 ground ball) - before the game. Cunningham made her 63rd career start and Mulcahy her 51st.

ESU will be the PSAC Tournament No. 1 seed, with No. 2 seed West Chester (12-4, 9-3) gaining the other first-round bye.

The Warriors posted a 17-12 win at West Chester on Wednesday, their first over the Golden Rams since 2003, to give themselves a chance to secure the No. 1 seed this weekend.

No. 3 Mercyhurst (11-4, 9-3) hosts No. 6 Seton Hill (10-7, 7-5) and No. 4 IUP (10-6, 9-3) hosts No. 5 Slippery Rock (12-5, 7-5) in the first round games on Tuesday. IUP would have been the No. 1 seed with a win over the Warriors.

The Warriors have won 10 straight entering the tournament since their only two losses of the season. They opened 5-0 before falling 12-11 vs. No. 4 LIU Post in a non-conference game on March 24, and lost 12-10 at Slippery Rock two days later for their only PSAC setback.

ESU's previous school record of 12 wins was set last year under then-first year head coach Xeni Barakos. The Warriors are 27-7 in two seasons under the 2011 ESU alum, who was an All-PSAC defender on ESU's most recent PSAC Tournament team.

ESU entered the weekend No. 6 in the NCAA Division II South Region rankings, with the top six teams in both the North and South regions earning spots in the NCAA Tournament at the conclusion of conference tournament games next weekend.