NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – For the third time during her career and for the second consecutive season, the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association announced on Tuesday that East Stroudsburg University women's lacrosse head coach Xeni Barakos-Yoder has been named the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
Barakos-Yoder guided the Warriors to another historic season in 2022, as ESU advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship game for the first time in program history and finished the campaign with a 20-2 record. During the impressive season, ESU set records for wins in a season (20), best start to a season (7-0) and claimed its second-ever PSAC Championship and collected its third NCAA Atlantic Region title for the third time over the past four seasons.
After earning the top-seed in the eastern division in the PSAC Tournament, the Warriors took care of business with a 13-2 win over Mercyhurst in the semifinal round before defeating No. 4 West Chester 15-12 at Seton Hill for the program's second PSAC title and first since 2017.
As ESU embarked on its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Warriors downed both the Lakers and Golden Rams once again, as ESU's Emily Mitarotonda scored the game-winning goal in overtime to send the Warriors to the NCAA Semifinals for the second consecutive season.
Facing the team that ended its season during the 2021 season, ESU sought revenge and downed No. 2 Queens by a score of 13-12 in overtime, as Sofia Graffeo buried a goal in transition after an impressive save by McKenzie Gaghan to keep the Warriors national championship hopes alive.
ESU held a second-half lead in the national championship contest against UIndy, but the Warriors came up just short in its first-ever national championship contest by a score of 11-9.
A program-record five Warriors were named All-Americans by the IWLCA, with Gianna LeDuc, Emily Mitarotonda and Kayleigh Pokrivka being named to the IWLCA All-America First Team, while Kiki Fitzpatrick and Maggie Sell were selected to the third team.
Under her watch, Mitarotonda (111 pts.), LeDuc (108 pts.) and Fitzpatrick (103 pts.) became the first three Warriors to tally 100-points in a season. The three-headed monster provided 315 points in just 22 games on the season. Defensively, ESU boasted the sixth-best scoring defense in NCAA DII, allowing just 6.86 goals per contest.
The 2022 season marks the third time over the past four seasons that Barakos-Yoder has been named the Division II Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, after earning the honor in 2018 and 2021 when the Warriors advanced to the NCAA Semifinal site.
Barkos-Yoder, an ESU lacrosse alumna, holds a career record of 95-25 through seven seasons at the helm of the Warriors. Prior to taking the reins of the program, ESU had never earned a bid to the NCAA tournament. Her .792 winning percentage is the best in program history. She currently trails all-time wins leader Sandy Miller (106 wins) by 11 wins.
