EAST STROUDSBURG – Paced by six points from
Emily Mitarotonda, five assists from
Kiki Fitzpatrick and hat tricks by
Madison Bagatta and
Hannah Schiemer, the No. 11/8 East Stroudsburg University lacrosse team got back on track with a 13-5 win over Shepherd on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Whitenight Field.
The Warriors (6-2, 3-1 PSAC East) get back to its winning ways after falling at No. 1 West Chester earlier this week. The Rams (5-5, 1-4 PSAC) fall to .500 on the season after back-to-back wins against Frostburg State and Shippensburg.
Holding a 6-4 lead at halftime, the Warriors dominated the second half, outscoring the Rams, 7-1.
Notables
- Mitarotonda could not be stopped, scoring five goals and added an assist. She also led ESU with seven ground balls, three caused turnovers and scooped six draw controls on the day. Through eight games this season, the junior has registered 29 goals, six assists for 35 points. She leads ESU in nearly every category, including goals, points, free-position goals, ground balls (33) and draw controls (32). She ranks second in caused turnovers (17) and is tied for third in assists. Among career leaders in program history, Mitarotonda ranks fourth in goals (166) and sixth in points (206).
- Fitzpatrick dealt five assists, a season-high for any Warrior, and now has 15 helpers on the season to pace the Red and Black. She added six draw controls to tie for the team lead. She also scooped a pair of ground balls.
- Schiemer added three goals for her third hat trick performance of her freshman season. She got the Warriors off to a strong start with the Warriors' first two goals of the contest within the first two minutes of action. She ranks fourth on the team with 11 goals.
- Bagatta set a new season high with three goals. Jolee Roth added two goals to round out the scoring.
- Defenders Maggie Sell and McKenna Conklin each caused two turnovers. Sell was a vacuum, earning an impressive six ground balls, while Jameson Kernaghan totaled five GBs.
- In the cage, goalkeeper Riley DiFiore totaled nine saves and allowed just four goals in 45 minutes of action to earn her sixth win at ESU. Bella Gismondi played the final quarter, allowing one goal while tallying a save.
- SU was led offensively by Shanna Dextradeur with three points on two goals and an assist. GK Hailey Bennett posted 13 saves.
- ESU held healthy advantages in shots (26-17), shots on goal (26-15), ground balls (32-21), draw controls (13-8) and free-position shots (6-2).
How It Happened
- After Schiemer recorded two early goals, Shepherd was able to match the Warriors with back-to-back goals, including a goal as time expired in the first quarter. ESU opened the second quarter strong with a pair of Mitarotonda goals, followed by Bagatta's first of three goals.
- Shepherd scored two of the final three goals in the second quarter and entered halftime with a 6-4 deficit.
- ESU took control after the intermission, scoring seven unanswered goals from the start of the third until the final minute of the fourth quarter. Mitarotonda scored three goals during the span, while Bagatta added a pair. Freshmen Roth and Schiemer also found the back of the cage during the game-altering stretch, as the Warriors grabbed a commanding 13-4 lead with just over four minutes to go.
- With the game in hand, SU was able to tally the final goal of the contest with 26 seconds remaining for the final score of 13-5.
Up Next
- The Warriors are back in action on Wednesday at Whitenight Field against Bloomsburg.
- The opening draw is set for 2:00 p.m. against the Huskies (4-5, 1-3 PSAC).
