EAST STROUDSBURG – Trailing 3-2 after the opening quarter, the No. 14/10 East Stroudsburg University lacrosse team registered 10 unanswered goals over the course of the second and third quarter on its way to a 13-7 win over Bloomsburg on Wednesday afternoon at Whitenight Field.
The Warriors improve to 7-2, 3-1 in the PSAC East on the season, with its second consecutive win. The Huskies (4-6, 1-4 PSAC East) fall for its fourth consecutive matchup.
Offensively,
Emily Mitarotonda was a force once again with five goals and added a assist. Warrior goalkeeper
Riley DiFiore posted an impressive 17 saves, the most by a Warrior since 2019.
Notables
- Mitarotonda - who now has 34 goals, seven assists for 41 points in nine games – recorded six points, four ground balls two caused turnovers and scooped six draw controls. In her Warrior career she now has 171 career goals, just 19 away from surpassing Kristin Restivo's 189 career goal record, as a junior. With 212 career points, she currently ranks fifth in program history, now sitting 59 points away from now ESU volunteer assistant coach Hana Cicerelle's 270 career points record.
- DiFiore's 17 saves are the most for a Warrior since Tatyana Petteway made 18 stops against West Chester on March 27, 2019 in an overtime thriller at Whitenight Field. It's the most saves for the Steel City native as a Warrior, posting 18 saves at York against Messiah on April 7, 2021 during her junior season for the Spartans. She picked up her seventh win in nine contests this season.
- Madison Bagatta added a hat trick and an assist for ESU for four points. She also scooped a pair of ground balls and a draw control.
- Kiki Fitzpatrick distributed three assists and leads the Warriors with 18 helpers this season. She ranks second on the squad with 30 points.
- Newcomers Jolee Roth (2G), Hannah Schiemer (1 CT, 3 DCs), Wilmington transfer Campbell Heller and Lauren Hallman also found the back of the cage. Mary Fitzsimmons added an assist.
- Maggie Sell caused a pair of turnovers and earned four ground balls for ESU.
- For Bloomsburg, Amanda Stoll recorded three points on two goals and an assist. Annie Rollins also registered multiple goals.
How it Happened
- As mentioned earlier, The teams traded goals to start, with BU opening the scoring just over the 1 minute mark of play. Schiemer tallied her goal next to knot the score, before Stoll lifted the Huskies to a 2-1 advantage. Mitarotonda erased the lead with a woman-up goal with 3:17 to go in the opening quarter to tie up the match. With just over a minute to play, Reiley Knize scored to put Bloomsburg up, 3-1, after the opening quarter.
- The Warriors stormed back with the impressive 10 unanswered goal streak to build a commanding 12-3 advantage midway through the third quarter. During the that time span, Mitarotonda and Bagatta both found the back of the cage three times, while Roth added both of her goals and Hallman and Heller posted both of their respective goals, as ESU took a 12-3 lead with 7:36 left in the third.
- BU ended the streak with 4:55 remaining in the period, to cut the deficit to eight.
- Mitarotonda opened the final quarter with her 34th goal of the season to extend the lead back to nine with 9:22 to go. With the game in hand, the Huskies recorded three goals in the final 3:38 for the final score of 13-7.
Up Next
- No. 14/10 ESU (7-2, 3-1) is ide until Saturday, when the Warriors trek to Shippensburg (1-8, 0-4 PSAC East) for a 1:00 p.m. tilt with the Raiders.
