Box Score  l  Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG - Senior back Sydney McCarthy scored the game-winning goal with 5:44 left, assisted on East Stroudsburg University's first goal and had a defensive save in the closing seconds to lead the No. 2-ranked Warriors to a 2-1 win vs. No. 9 Merrimack in the non-conference field hockey opener for both schools on Saturday afternoon at Whitenight Field.

ESU won a match-up of the 2015 NCAA Division II championship game which the Warriors captured, 1-0 (OT), for their first-ever field hockey national title.

After a scoreless first half, senior forward Melanie Shambaugh broke the tie with a goal midway through the second period, assisted by McCarthy, for a 1-0 lead with 18:55 remaining.

Merrimack responded just 2:59 later, as Taylor Simpson scored to make it 1-1.

McCarthy knocked in a rebound after two Warriors shots were saved by Merrimack goalkeeper Katharina Ohmen (8 saves) for the eventual game-winner with less than six minutes left.

Merrimack earned three penalty corners in the final 1:40, but McCarthy had a defensive save on the second as regulation expired, and ESU fought off an untimed penalty corner to seal the victory.

Senior goalkeeper Halle Frisco had four saves for ESU in her first career start after backing up departed senior Danielle Ard her first three seasons.

Shambaugh's goal was the third of her career after scoring twice as a junior.

McCarthy, a second team All-PSAC midfielder before transitioning to center back this year, had her eighth career goal and eighth career assist. She had five goals and three assists in 2016, and is the only remaining starter from the 2015 PSAC and national championship team.

ESU held advantages of 18-8 in shots and 8-5 in penalty corners, and outshot Merrimack, 12-5, in the decisive second half.

The Warriors, who have lost six NFHCA All-America selections in the last two years, are replacing five starters this season - back Emily Howell (2x All-America 1st team, 2016 PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Year), midfielder Desiraye Mack (2x All-America 1st team), forward Robin Stevenson (2016 All-America 2nd team), back Morgan Firestine (2016 All-America 2nd team), and Ard in goal.

ESU started all five of its seniors, and five of its seven juniors.

ESU hosts No. 5 Stonehill on Sunday at 1 p.m., with the Skyhawks coming off a 3-1 setback at No. 3 Millersville on Saturday.