WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Holding a two-goal lead over No. 4 West Chester with 16 minutes left in the second half, the No. 10 East Stroudsburg University lacrosse team could not prevent a late comeback attempt, falling to the Golden Rams by a score of 12-10 on Saturday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field.
The Warriors (7-2, 6-2) win streak of four was snapped, while the Golden Rams (9-0, 9-0 PSAC East) remain undefeated in nine games this season.
With ESU leading by 10-8 with 16:32 remaining, West Chester hunkered down and did not allow ESU to score the rest of the way, finishing the game on a 4-0 run to earn the 12-10 win.
Brielle Curtis paced the Warriors offense with four points on three goals and an assist. Bailey McMaster and Gianna LeDuc each found the back of the cage twice, while Shannon Dent (1G, 1A), Kiki Fitzpatick (2A) and Emily Mitarotonda (1 G, 1A) also posted two points. Olivia Wenrich also registered a goal to round out the scorers.
In the cage, Tatyana Petteway posted 12 saves. The Nanuet, N.Y. native cracked the 700 career save threshold in the contest and now has at 703 saves during her collegiate career. The graduate student is just four saves away from moving into 10th place all-time in the Division II history in the category.
After West Chester opened the scoring with a goal from Tara Morrissey in the second minute, the Warriors ensued on a 4-0 sprint to grab a 4-1 advantage with 13:41 left in the first half. Dent, E. Mitarotonda, LeDuc and Wenrich recorded scores in the 13-minute stretch.
WCU stopped the scoring spree with a goal from Lindsay Monigle at the 13:08 mark, but McMaster countered with a free position goal just over a minute later to make it a 5-2 contest in favor of ESU.
Monigle (10:41) and Morrisey (9:46) fired a pair of quick goals for the Golden Rams, as WCU closed the first half on a 4-2 run. Curtis found the back of the cage with 4:17 to play in the first half to make it 6-4, but WCU would score twice in the final two minutes to knot the score at 6-6 at halftime.
It was ESU that opened the second half scoring, with McMaster posting her 14th goal of the season off an assist from Dent in the third minute to retake the lead at 7-6. The Warriors would add to their lead with Curtis' second score with 21:02 to play.
WCU ended the mini-scoring run just a minute later to slice the ESU lead to one at 8-7, but LeDuc would extend the lead back to two for the Warriors just 30 seconds later.
The teams continued to trade goals, with ESU continuing to maintain a lead until a 3-1 sprint from WCU would tie the contest up at 10-10 with 8:50 to go.
WCU would grab its first lead since 1-0 at 11-10, and then added the final goal of the contest with 4:56 to play, as the Golden Rams completed the comeback for its ninth win of the season.
ESU looks to get back to its winning ways on Tuesday, April 20, when the Warriors host Kutztown at Eiler-Martin Stadium. The opening draw is slated for 3:00 p.m. ESU will then host Millersvile on Senior Night at Eiler-Martin Stadium on Thursday, April 22 at 6:00 p.m.
