Box Score  l  Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG - No. 20-ranked East Stroudsburg University erased an early 4-0 deficit and scored six straight goals late in the contest, running past No. 21 IUP for a 14-10 win in PSAC women's lacrosse on Saturday afternoon at Whitenight Field.

Freshman midfielder Krista Mitarotonda scored four goals to continue her impressive first season, junior midfielder Emma Rufolo scored three and senior midfielder Chessie Rahmer and sophomore midfielder Hana Cicerelle had two each for ESU (7-2, 6-1), which beat its second nationally-ranked opponent this week following a 17-12 win vs. No. 24 Lock Haven on Wednesday.

Ally Burrows, first team All-PSAC last year, had four goals and an assist for IUP (6-3, 3-3) as the Warriors backed up their two wins vs. the Crimson Hawks last spring - 16-8 to claim their first-ever PSAC regular season title, and 11-9 in the PSAC semifinals on their way to the first PSAC tournament championship in program history.

Junior attack TJ Jefferis added a goal and an assist, sophomore midfielder Juliane Fitzsimmons and freshman attack Bailey McMaster also scored and junior attack Brooke Fritz had three assists for the Warriors.

ESU held its third annual Alyssa Oxenford Memorial Game in honor of Alyssa Oxenford, a three-year starter at defender from 2012-14 who was diagnosed with leukemia following her junior year and passed away in August 2015. Proceeds from the game will benefit an ESU women's lacrosse scholarship.

ESU trailed 6-4 at halftime and 7-4 after IUP scored 17 seconds into the second half - then ripped off four straight goals on a Cicerelle free position shot, Rufolo assisted by Fritz, Mitarotonda unassisted and Mitarotonda from a free position - to go in front 8-7 for its first lead of the game.

IUP came back with a pair of goals to lead 9-8 with 16:40 remaining before ESU's 6-0 run, the first three from free position shots.

Jefferis tied it with 15:30 left, Rufolo gave ESU the lead for good at the 13:06 mark and McMaster extended the advantage with her fifth goal of the year with 12:14 remaining.

Rahmer scored twice, the second assisted by Fritz with 6:47 left, and Rufolo made it 14-9 with 3:25 remaining.

Burrows scored her fourth goal with 1:14 left for IUP.

Sophomore goalkeeper Tatyana Petteway had 12 saves for ESU, and Lauren Piecknick made 11 saves for IUP.

ESU had a 38-30 advantage in shots, including 23-18 in the second half. The Warriors closed IUP's draw control advantage to 14-12 with a 9-6 margin after halftime.

ESU finished 7-for-17 on free position shots (5-for-10 in the second half), while IUP was 3-for-8.

Rahmer had three caused turnovers, two ground balls and a team-high five draw controls, freshman defender Kayleigh Pokrivka had three caused turnovers and five ground balls and Rufolo added four ground balls for the Warriors.

IUP built its 4-0 lead in the first 10:06 before Mitarotonda got ESU on the board midway through the first half (15:08), starting a three-goal run for the Warriors.

Burrows scored twice for a 6-3 IUP lead, but Cicerelle cut the margin to 6-4 with 26 seconds left until halftime.

ESU has rallied from at least a three goal deficit in four of its six PSAC wins this season, and came back from four goals down for the third time - an 11-10 win vs. Millersville on March 23, a 9-7 win at Slippery Rock last Saturday, and this Saturday's escape. ESU came back from three goals down in Wednesday's 17-12 win vs. Lock Haven.

Mitarotonda extended her team lead in goals to 31, scoring 4+ in five of ESU's nine games. Cicerelle has 26 through nine games, matching her total from 19 games as a freshman.

Rahmer and Rufolo both have 17 goals each, coming off major postseason awards last spring - Rahmer was named IWLCA All-America third team and All-Region first team, and Rufolo was All-Region second team and the PSAC Athlete of the Year.

The Warriors, second in the PSAC behind West Chester (11-0, 6-0), host Kutztown (6-5, 3-3) on Wednesday at 4 p.m. to complete a three-game homestand. KU has PSAC wins over Gannon (3-5, 2-4), Bloomsburg (7-3, 4-2) and Edinboro (3-8, 0-7) this spring.