EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — After a decisive quarterfinal win in the first round of the PSAC Tournament, the ESU women’s lacrosse team gears up for its semifinal contest against No. 15 Kutztown tomorrow evening.

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• The Warriors are coming off the largest margin of victory in the PSAC Quarterfinals, defeating Lock Haven 21-6 to improve to 18-0.
• The day after the first round of postseason competition, the PSAC announced its All-PSAC teams, with ESU leading the East with five First Team selections. Sadie Kauffman headlined the group, also earning PSAC East Athlete of the Year, while the group was completed by Ariana Tucci, Lauren Hallman, Molly Atwell, and Abby Simonetti. Jolee Roth and Paige Moreland were named to the Second Team, giving ESU seven total selections, tying its most ever in a season. Additionally, HC Xeni Barakos-Yoder was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the third time in her career.
• Kauffman can wreck opposing teams’ defensive game plans with her offense alone, but another facet of her and the Warriors’ game is ESU’s success on draw controls. Kauffman broke her own single-game record with 15 against Lock Haven, as ESU has won 59.6% of draw controls this season.
• Four of ESU’s goals on Tuesday came off free-position shots, as the Warriors have converted 56.6% of their free-position attempts. On the flip side, the Warriors have made free-position attempts anything but a given for other teams, as opponents have only scored on 33.3% of those chances.
• Ariana Tucci was ESU’s leading goal scorer and helped the Warriors jump out to an early insurmountable lead, as she scored five times. Four of those goals came in the game’s first 20 minutes, as the All-PSAC East First Team selection ranks fourth in the conference with 61 on the season.
• The Warriors’ two All-PSAC East Second Team honorees, Roth and Moreland, are approaching both career and single-season records for assists. Roth is just seven away from tying Lauren Nunes’ record of 114, with the two of them neck-and-neck for the team lead in assists this season. Roth has 46 while Moreland has 45, as both of them are inside the top five for most assists in a season in program history.  
• ESU has started every game with Abby Simonetti in net, splitting the majority of game time with Madison McBride since conference play began. The duo ranks first and second in the conference in save percentage, with Simonetti leading Division II with a .609 SV%, while McBride is next with .520.

SCOUTING KUTZTOWN

• The Golden Bears are coming off a dominant win on the road at No. 22 Seton Hill, the #2 team in the PSAC West. Kutztown defeated Seton Hill 19-6 in the PSAC Quarterfinals. 
• Kutztown ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak, defeating Shippensburg and Millersville on the road, then beating Bloomsburg and Shepherd. Since their win at Shippensburg, the Golden Bears have outscored opponents 91-24.
• In the final week of the regular season, Katie Yocum and Summer Davis swept the PSAC East Athlete of the Week awards for the Golden Bears, with both earning All-PSAC honors the next day. Davis was Kutztown’s lone First Team selection, as Yocum, Rowan Hall, and Marisa Bragg were named to the Second Team.
• Davis finished the regular season as the team leader in ground balls, caused turnovers, and draw controls. On a per-game basis, she ranked eighth in Division II in caused turnovers.
• Alongside Davis on the defensive end is Hall, who is right behind her with 41 ground balls and third with 31 caused turnovers. They lead a defense that’s allowed the third-fewest goals in the PSAC, giving up 159. 
• In net, Bragg ranks right behind McBride with a .496 SV%. In goals against average and saves per game, she ranks fourth in both categories with an 8.17 GAA and 7.61 SPG. Among the goalies ranked in the top 10 in GAA, she has the most minutes played, with 1,008:59 spent in net.
• Yocum is the Golden Bears’ leading scorer, scoring 62 goals and recording seven assists. She was named USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Division II Player of the Week the same week Moreland earned the honor from the IWLCA, as the two split PSAC East Co-Athlete of the Week honors.
• Kutztown has three other players with over 50 points: Lauren LaMorte, Maddie Wagner, and Sophie Engelhardt. LaMorte is the team leader in assists, dishing out 34, while Wagner is second on the team with 44 goals. Engelhardt has recorded 51 points with 28 goals and 23 assists, doing so in two games less than her four teammates with more points. 

SERIES HISTORY

• ESU comfortably won both games this season, taking the first meeting at Kutztown, 16-6, then defending Whitenight Field with a 19-9 victory.
• In the box score, the Warriors had definitive advantages in shots and draw controls. ESU outshot Kutztown 80-51, though only placing eight more attempts on goal than the Golden Bears. In the draw circle, ESU came up with 34 while Kutztown only secured 18. In the first game, Kutztown’s seven draw controls is tied for the fewest by an ESU opponent all season. 
• With a 29-12 all-time record against Kutztown, ESU’s had the upper hand historically, though Kutztown has played the Warriors better over the last couple of years. The Golden Bears won both PSAC Tournament meetings between the two teams in 2023 and 2024. But, outside of those games, the Warriors have won all but one of the other 18 meetings with Barakos-Yoder as HC, including two NCAA Tournament games.