Box Score
EAST STROUDSBURG – Senior
Kelli Shapiro netted a pair of goals and added three assists as No.3 East Stroudsburg University defeated Molloy College 6-2 in its final home game of the regular season on Wednesday.
The Warriors (14-3) held a 29-3 advantage in shots and a 21-2 edge in shots on goal over the Lions (12-7). Molloy goalkeeper Tara Byrnes recorded 15 saves in the contest despite allowing six shots to get past her.
Shapiro opened the scoring just 1:47 into the contest as her shot from the top of the circle would deflect off the right pad of Byrnes and find the back of the net. She would add her eighth goal of the season and second of the afternoon at the 27:20 as she collected a loose ball off an initial save by Byrnes to put ESU up 4-0 in the first half.
Senior
Ashley Ceschini added a pair of goals in the contest for the Warriors with Shapiro notching the assists on both. Ceschini made it 2-0 ESU at the 14:08 mark as she took a shot from the top of the circle off a penalty corner. She would later add her fifth goal of the season at the 52:43 mark to make it 6-1.
ESU also received goals in the contest from senior
Makenna Marhefka and junior
Karly Conway. Marhefka redirected a shot from Shapiro at the 16:20 mark of the first half to beat Byrnes and make it 3-0 Warriors. Conway's tally came just 2:30 into the second half as she found a loose ball in the circle and beat the keeper with a shot to the right side.
Molloy scored a pair of goals in the second half against the Warriors. Kyra Dalli deflected a shot from Shaelin de Wit that would find its way past ESU goalkeeper
Maddie Richie at the 45:52 mark. Zoe Norton scored her team-leading 18th goal of the season for the Lions at the 55:22 mark as she took a pass from the right side of the circle and beat Richie to the low left side.
The NCAA released its second Atlantic and East Region rankings earlier in the afternoon, with West Chester listed No. 1, ESU No. 2 and Shippensburg No. 3 in the Atlantic. The top three teams in both the Atlantic and East regions will be selected for the Division II national tournament.
The six teams will then be seeded, No. 1 through No. 6, with the top two teams receiving byes into the national semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 29 in Pittsburgh. Opening round contests will be played at campus sites on Sunday, Nov. 25, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds hosting. The Warriors have qualified for three-straight DII tournaments, earning the program's first-ever national title back in 2015.
Full rankings are listed below. ESU will be back in action on Saturday as the Warriors finish the regular season with a 1 p.m. matchup at Mansfield University (8-9, 4-5)
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Rankings (Records through Nov. 7)
| Rank |
School |
In-Region Record |
Overall Record |
| 1 |
West Chester |
14-2 |
14-2 |
| 2 |
ESU |
14-3 |
14-3 |
| 3 |
Shippensburg |
13-3 |
13-3 |
| 4 |
Limestone |
10-1 |
11-3 |
| 5 |
Kutztown |
14-4 |
14-4 |
NCAA Division II East Region Rankings
| Rank |
School |
In-Region Record |
Overall Record |
| 1 |
Pace |
15-1 |
16-1 |
| 2 |
Merrimack |
13-2 |
14-2 |
| 3 |
LIU Post |
12-4 |
12-4 |
| 4 |
Stonehill |
11-5 |
11-5 |
| 5 |
Saint Anselm |
11-3 |
11-5 |
