SAINT CHARLES, Mo. - After advancing farther than any East Stroudsburg University lacrosse team has in its 58-year history, the Warriors came up just short in the NCAA Division II Championship game, falling to the University of Indianapolis by a score of, 11-9, on Sunday afternoon at Hunter Stadium on campus of Lindenwood University.
The Warriors close its record-shattering season with a 20-2 record. The Greyhounds (21-1) claim the program's first national championship with the win.
With ESU leading 7-6 in the third quarter, the Hounds used a 4-0 scoring run to grab a 10-7 lead with 10:50 to go. Gianna LeDuc and Kiki Fitzpatrick each found the back of the cage to slice the deficit to one at 10-9 with 4:11 left. ESU held possession with a chance of tying the game
Following the game, Emily Mitarotonda, Gianna LeDuc and Maddie Heck were selected to the NCAA DII All-Tournament Team.
Notables
- Goalkeeper McKenzie Gaghan (L, 14-2) put together a career-performance on the biggest stage, recording a career-best 14 saves to keep the Warriors in the game.
- Emily Mitarotonda posted her 17th hat trick of the season, adding an assist and two draw controls. She closes her IWLCA First Team All-American season with a program-record 89 goals and 111 points. In just 38 career games as a Warrior, Mitarotonda has registered 137 goals (9th all-time), 34 assists (19th all-time) and 171 points (12th all-time). She becomes the first Warrior to be named to the NCAA All-Tournament team multiple times.
- Gianna LeDuc caps her historic season with 55 goals and 53 assists for 108 points. She added a goal late in hopes of sparking a Warrior comeback. The former walk-on turned IWLCA First Team All-American's 53 assists are the second most in a single season.
- Kiki Fitzpatrick closes her redshirt season with 54 goals and 59 assists for 103 points.
- The three-headed monster of LeDuc, Mitarotonda and Fitzpatrick wrap-up the historic season with 198 goals, 124 assists for 322 points in 22 games (14.64 per game). Mitarotonda (111 pts.), LeDuc (108 pts.) and Fitzpatrick (103 pts.) now ranks first, second and third respectively for points in a single season in Warrior history.
- Maddie Heck registered ESU's first two goals, while Madison Bagatta also tallied a pair of goals.
- Kayleigh Pokrivka led the way defensively with four caused turnovers and vacuumed seven ground balls. The IWLCA First Team All-American and PSAC East Defender of the Year closes her graduate student season with 66 caused turnovers and 81 ground balls. She finishes her collegiate career with an impressive 179 caused turnovers and 232 career ground balls in just 74 games.
- UIndy was able to earn more time with possession, earning 20 of 24 draw controls. Peyton Romig recorded 16 of UIndy's draw controls. Sarah Klein posted four goals for the Hounds, while Abigail Lagos tallied a hat trick.
- UIndy led 34-15 on shots and 19-15 on ground balls.
- ESU battled adversity all season, with six impactful players missing the majority of the season due to ACL tears.
- ESU earned back-to-back emotional 13-12 overtime victories to advance to the NCAA Division II Championship.
How it Happened
- UIndy recorded the first goal of the contest, but ESU was able to respond to the Greyhounds' first two scores. Gaghan made four first quarter saves to limit the damage. With 53 seconds left in the opening quarter, Mitarotonda found the back of the cage to lift ESU to its first lead of the contest.
- Bagatta added to the lead to open the second quarter, extending ESU's lead to 4-2. UIndy responded with a pair of goals in the first six minutes to knot the score at 4-4. It was Bagatta again that found the back of the cage for her second goal of the contest to lift ESU back to a 5-4 lead with 7:29.
- It was a Greyhound free position goal that opened the second half scoring at the 13:31 mark, giving UIndy its first lead since, 2-1, in the first quarter. Mitarotonda quickly responded, firing her second goal after receiving a pass from Fitzpatrick, just over a minute later to tie up the contest at 6-6.
- Mitarotonda tallied her 17th hat trick in 22 games this season after converting a free position goal. She shot low with a bounce finding the back of the cage. UIndy countered with a free position goal of its own to tie the contest at 7-7. With just 10.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Greyhound's added a tally. The Hounds continued its run, scoring four consecutive goals to make it a 10-7 lead.
- As it did in the NCAA Semifinal round, the Warriors bounced back from a three-goal deficit, with LeDuc and Fitzpatrick registering goals at the 6:06 mark and 4:11 left. ESU won the ensuing draw control and maintained possession after drawing a yellow card. Unfortunately for ESU, a Warrior turnover allowed the Hounds to burn some clock and ultimately fired an insurance goal into the back of the cate with just 1:40 left.
- ESU called timeout, as the Warriors were able to force much needed turnover with under a minute left. A Warrior shot went high, as UIndy caused a turnover in the final 15 seconds to claim the national championship.
- The Warriors close the historic season with a 20-2 record, claiming its second PSAC Championship and its third Atlantic Region Championship.
- Xeni Barakos-Yoder closes her seventh season at the helm of her alma mater with a 95-25 record. She has guided the Warriors to all five of its five NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing the Warriors to the NCAA Semifinals in three of those seasons and the NCAA title game in 2022.
NCAA DII ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM (All-Time ESU selections)
