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East Stroudsburg University Athletics

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Alicia Stratten Chessie Rahmer
Ashley Chioda
Seniors Alicia Stratten and Chessie Rahmer have helped ESU to a 28-5 record (21-2 PSAC) in the last 2 seasons.

No. 18 ESU Lacrosse (11-2, 10-1) Tops No. 22 Mercyhurst, 19-14, Secures PSAC Tournament First-Round Bye with 7th Straight Win

4/21/2018 12:00:00 AM

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EAST STROUDSBURG - Senior midfielders Chessie Rahmer and Alicia Stratten were honored, midfielder Krista Mitarotonda set East Stroudsburg University freshman single-season records for goals and points, and the No. 18-ranked Warriors secured at least the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the PSAC Tournament with a 19-14 win over No. 22 Mercyhurst in PSAC women's lacrosse on Saturday at Whitenight Field.

ESU (11-2, 10-1) never trailed in winning its seventh straight game, opening a 4-0 lead in the first 4:21 and then outscoring the Lakers 7-3 in the final 18 minutes after they cut the margin to 12-11.

Rahmer had four goals and two assists, sophomore midfielder Hana Cicerelle had four goals and four assists and Mitarotonda had six goals and one assist - her third six-goal game of the season, and eighth with at least four goals in her first 13 career games.

Mitarotonda finished the afternoon with 49 goals and five assists for 54 points, breaking ESU freshman records of 45 goals and 53 points set by Kristin Restivo in 1997.

The Warriors have two games remaining in the regular season, Wednesday in their PSAC finale at Bloomsburg and next Saturday at No. 7 LIU Post (12-3), which won 13-10 at No. 17 NYIT on Saturday.

No. 9 West Chester improved to 15-0 (10-0) with a 17-7 win vs. Lock Haven and can earn the PSAC's No. 1 seed with a win next week, traveling to Millersville and hosting IUP.

ESU, the defending PSAC champion for the first time in program history, gained separation from Mercyhurst (9-5, 7-3), which got four goals and five assists from Taylor Izzo and four goals from Grace Lawson.

ESU edged the Lakers, 10-9, in last year's PSAC championship game and has won three straight in the series after dropping the first eight meetings since Mercyhurst joined the PSAC in 2009.

The Warriors move to 28-5 overall (21-2 PSAC) in the last two seasons, and 40-10 in their first 50 games, under third-year head coach Xeni Barakos-Yoder.

Sophomore goalkeeper Tatyana Petteway made 15 saves, including nine in the first half, and the Warriors held a 37-30 advantage in shots despite a 22-13 deficit in draw controls. ESU forced 22 turnovers while committing 18.

Rahmer had five of her six points (3 goals, 2 assists) in the second half, continuing her push towards the top 10 in program history in career goals (127) and points (155) for the 2017 IWLCA All-America third team selection.

Cicerelle, in the midst of a breakout season (35 goals, 12 assists) after posting 26 goals and 13 assists in 20 games as a freshman, had a hand in four goals in each half - two goals and two assists in both - and scored the Warriors' final two goals.

After Mercyhurst cut the ESU lead to 12-11 with 18:52 remaining, junior midfielder Emma Rufolo (2 goals, assist), the reigning PSAC Athlete of the Year, scored to start a four-goal run for the Warriors.

Rahmer followed, assisted by Cicerelle, then Mitarotonda scored from Rahmer and converted a free position to put the Warriors in front, 16-11, with 9:55 left.

Mercyhurst scored the next two before ESU rattled off three more - Rahmer and Cicerelle unassisted, and Cicerelle from junior attack TJ Jefferis - to put the game away.

Cicerelle, Mitarotonda and Rahmer combined for 14 of ESU's 19 goals and added seven assists. Other goal scorers were Rufolo with two, and Stratten, Jefferis and sophomore attack Cassidy McKenna with one each.

Freshman defender Kayleigh Pokrivka had five of ESU's 11 caused turnovers after entering third in the PSAC in caused turnovers per game (2.67).

Kira Kolb (8), Kristin Anderson (7) and Angelina Simon (5) notched 20 of Mercyhust's 22 draw controls.

ESU scored 19 goals for the second straight game, following a 19-11 win at Shippensburg on Tuesday, and has scored at least 14 goals in each of its last six games. The Warriors' current seven-game win streak started with a 9-7 victory at Slippery Rock on March 31.

Mercyhurst had won three straight and nine of its last 11, falling to West Chester (11-10) and Lock Haven (16-7).

In the initial NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings released last week, ESU was No. 2 and Mercyhurst was No. 5, with the top three schools following the conference tournament (May 1, 4 and 6) advancing to the NCAA Tournament. ESU made its first-ever appearance last year.

ESU will play a PSAC semifinal game on Friday, May 4 at West Chester - if the Golden Rams win once next week - or at ESU, if WCU loses twice and ESU wins at Bloomsburg.
 
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