EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — It’s full steam ahead for the ESU women’s lacrosse team, which enters the postseason eyeing its third PSAC Championship after an undefeated regular season. Their first test in the PSAC Quarterfinals is the No. 4W Lock Haven Bald Eagles, with the opening draw set for 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Whitenight Field.

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• The Warriors are coming off their first undefeated regular season, entering the postseason as the PSAC East’s No. 1 seed. ESU leads the conference in just about every meaningful stat. ESU has scored the most goals in the conference on the best shooting percentage, converting 53.4% of their attempts for 322 goals.
• East Stroudsburg’s lineup is All-PSAC and All-American talent, headlined by Sadie Kauffman and Ariana Tucci. Kauffman is the conference leader with 115 points, while Tucci wrapped up the regular season with 82 points, the third-most. 
• Kauffman scored 86 goals, averaging a blistering 5.1 per game. Nobody else in the PSAC averages more than 3.5. Tucci has been playing at a hat trick per game pace this season, too, netting 56 for 3.3 per game.
• Those two also rank inside the top-10 for total assists in the PSAC, with Kauffman dishing out 29 and Tucci recording 26, but it’s the Warriors' other two attackers that have done the most damage distributing the ball. Jolee Roth and Paige Moreland rank second and third in the conference with 44 and 41 assists, respectively. 
• Roth, who’s been one of ESU’s top assist leaders in all four seasons of her career, is approaching the program record, just nine assists shy of tying it with 105 and counting. She and Moreland have both had historic seasons, ranking inside the top five in program history for most assists in a season.
• Rounding out the regular offensive personnel for the Warriors are midfielders Lauren Hallman and Katie Bullen. Hallman is third on the team with 40 goals and second with seven free-position goals on nine attempts. Bullen recorded 35 points in her rookie season, putting up 30 goals and five assists. What has made Bullen an instant contributor to this team has been her two-way play. Bullen caused 23 turnovers, tied for the second most by a freshman in program history.
• On the defensive side of the field, the Warriors’ goalkeeper tandem of Abby Simonetti and Madison McBride has had success going back and forth between each keeper. Simonetti leads the country with a .604 save percentage, and paired with McBride, ESU has the second-best save percentage as a team in Division II, stopping 57.3% of shots on goal.
• In front of the duo is a defense that’s only given up 10 or more goals three times this season, leading to a scoring defense that allows 6.7 GPG that feeds into a Division-II-leading scoring margin of 12.2 GPG. 
• Molly Atwell, a third-team preseason All-American, is ESU’s top defender. She leads the team in caused turnovers per game, forcing 1.7, while also securing 3.0 draw controls per game. 
• The trio of Atwell, Kauffman, and Alexis Neumen works draws controls for the Warriors, as ESU leads the conference and is 12th in Division II with 15.5 per game. They also have a 58.5% success rate on draws, which is second in the conference to Slippery Rock.
• Neumen is active on the defensive end as well, ranking second on the team with 1.4 caused turnovers per game. 
• Emily Varilla and Carly Brady have started nearly every game for ESU on defense, ranking third and sixth on the team in ground balls, respectively. Both have been able to successfully clear the defensive zone on their own once they secure possession, helping the Warriors go 257-315 on clears. Their 81.6% rate is the fourth-best in the PSAC.

SCOUTING LOCK HAVEN

• The Bald Eagles finished the season with a 9-7 overall record, splitting their 10 games in the PSAC West for a 5-5 record. Coming into the tournament as the fourth seed in the division, they ended the regular season on a two-game skid, falling to Indiana (Pa.) and Slippery Rock after winning their previous four games. 
• Lock Haven was swept in both of its season series against The Rock and the Crimson Hawks, but split with Seton Hill, the second seed in the east. The Griffins took game one on their field in March, winning 14-11, but the Bald Eagles defended home turf in April with a 13-6 win. 
• On the road, Lock Haven has gone 4-4 this season. Their other away loss came against Frostburg State in mid-March, where they lost 15-7.
• The Bald Eagles are led by the scoring duo of Gabby Gunnip and Makayla Kelly, both averaging over four points per game. Gunnip is fourth in the conference with 75 points, while Kelly is ninth with 70.
• Gunnip’s scoring consists of 53 goals and 22 assists, as the two-time All-PSAC attacker is two points away from matching her career high in points.
• Kelly has continued her improvement year-by-year for Lock Haven, setting a career high in goals, assists, and points this season. Her 24 helpers are tied with Lexi Bunk for the team lead.
• Bunk has started in all 16 games she’s played in this season, finishing the year with 32 goals for 56 points. Her and Kelly’s 24 assists rank 11th in the PSAC. 
• Gunnip and Kelly do the majority of work for Lock Haven on draws as well, as they lead the team with 50 and 45 draw controls each. They make up 95 of Lock Haven’s 174 draw controls as a team, though the Bald Eagles have given up 245 to opponents this season. 
• Lock Haven has narrowly outscored its opponents this season, putting up 207 goals while allowing 189, winning their games by an average margin of 1.1 GPG. Despite getting outshot 491 to 446 on the season, Lock Haven has made the most of their shots, converting on 46.4% of their attempts as opponents have only scored on 38.5% of theirs.
• Gretchen King is slated to start in net for the Bald Eagles, as she’s played all but six minutes in Lock Haven’s final four games of the season. She made 54 saves during that stretch, posting a .551 save percentage.
• Looking to make King’s job easier will be Mackenna Brown on the Bald Eagles’ defense. She leads the team with 30 caused turnovers and 32 ground balls. The only other Bald Eagle within 10 caused turnovers of her is Ally Weaver with 20. The senior has also picked up 18 ground balls this year, just over one per game.

SERIES HISTORY

• The two teams used to play at least once a year annually from 1973-2018, with Lock Haven holding a 38-15 advantage over ESU in the all-time series.
• Since 2018, though, they’ve only faced off one time, which was last year. The Warriors won that meeting, 17-10, as well as the previous three from 2016-2018. 
• The Warriors and Bald Eagles have played each other twice in the PSAC Tournament, splitting the two games. ESU won 14-7 in 1985, but Lock Haven flipped the outcome in a near reverse with a 15-7 win in 2011.