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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – East Stroudsburg University is heading back to the Division II Atlantic Region Championship game for a second-consecutive season.

Junior Hana Cicerelle paced the offense with four goals and three assists, as the Warriors raced out to a 7-1 halftime lead and held on for a 12-8 victory over Mercyhurst in the opening round of the national tournament Friday afternoon.

ESU (15-5) will take on host and top-seeded West Chester at 12 p.m. on Sunday for a spot in the DII Final Four. The Golden Rams (18-2) advanced with a 20-10 win over Seton Hill earlier this afternoon. Mercyhurst, meanwhile, ends its season with a final record of 13-7.

"Today we talked a lot about coming out and playing a full game," head coach Xeni Barakos-Yoder said. "When we had this matchup last week I didn't feel like we played our best. The team was more focused and we played an excellent first half. We tired in the second half, but were able to get it done and I'm very excited about that."

Neither team scored more than eight goals in either of their first two meetings this season, but the Warriors were already up to seven heading into the intermission. ESU led 3-0 after eight minutes, as Cicerelle scored twice and set up senior TJ Jefferis for the other goal during that run.

After Mercyhurst recorded its lone goal of the half with 21:38 remaining, four different Warriors struck during a 4-0 run to conclude the frame.

"We scored early, and we were able to use that fire to keep going," Cicerelle said. "Every time we huddle we tell each other not to let up, because every team that we're going to play from here on out has the ability to come back on us. We had a good day on attack and were able to put them away."

Junior Tatyana Petteway had eight of her 11 saves in the first half, as she and defenders Natalie Jacobs, Kristen Andreychak, Gillian McEvoy, Chelsea Allie and Madison Mulligan held the Lakers off the scoreboard for over 23 minutes of game action.

"Our defense has played so well all year despite dealing with a lot of changes," Barakos-Yoder commented. "We lost Kayleigh Pokrivka at IUP, but we've had a lot of girls step up to replace her. Chelsea Allie, making her first start today, gave us great energy and had a ton of ground balls, and Tatyana was excellent as always. The credit has to go to the defense in this one."

Allie had a team-high four ground balls, while senior Emma Rufolo added five draws, three caused turnovers and three ground balls to go along with two goals and an assist. While she was held without a goal for the first time in her collegiate career, sophomore Krista Mitarotonda won a team-high eight draw controls, helping ESU finish the contest with a dominant 15-7 advantage overall.

Mercyhurst scored the first three goals of the second half to pull within three at 7-4, and the Lakers got as close as 10-8 with 7:33 remaining on the third goal of the game for Julia Rescott.

Jefferis responded with a clutch goal on the other end less than a minute later, and sophomore Brielle Curtis setup Rufolo for the final marker with 1:59 left to secure the victory.

Cicerelle and Jefferis each had four goals in the win, and with her seven points overall Cicerelle came within one of matching her career scoring high.

Sophomores Shannon Dent and Gianna LeDuc rounded out the scorers. With their 12 goals today, the Warriors established a new single-season record for goals with 285 overall on the year.

Next up is a third meeting this year with West Chester. ESU topped the Golden Rams 15-14 in overtime on March 27, while WCU won 13-9 in last Sunday's PSAC championship game. The Warriors bested West Chester 16-14 in last year's Atlantic Region final.

"It's always a battle between these two teams," Barakos-Yoder said. "We have so much respect for Coach Martino and the program she's built here, and we're trying to climb that ladder and build the same thing here at ESU. We're going to rest, reset and come ready to go."