WEST CHESTER, Pa. — In its final non-conference game before beginning PSAC play, the ESU field hockey team fell to the No. 4 West Chester Golden Rams on the road on Tuesday afternoon, 2-1.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior forward Rylie McGrath found the back of the net again for her seventh goal of the season. She was assisted by freshman forward Emily Dobrowolski, marking the newcomer's second career assist and 10^th point. McGrath accounted for five of the Warriors' six shots on goal.
• Senior goalkeeper Jet Vermeulen posted a second-half shutout after coming into the game after the break, making a pair of saves to keep the Warriors in the game.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Chester struck first early in the second quarter and doubled its lead shortly after, both coming off penalty corners. On the first goal, Anna Finn took a shot from the middle of the field that was blocked and swept out left. Gianna Funari corralled the loose ball and sent another shot on target, going in after ricocheting off an ESU stick.
• Six minutes later, Finn wouldn't be denied again, cashing in at the halfway mark of the second quarter. Sofia Brown received the initial pass, setting up Finn for the point shot, which beat senior goalkeeper Sydney Pope to the left side of the net.
• ESU got the start it needed in the second half, with Dobrowolski and McGrath turning a counterattack into a goal. The freshman intercepted a pass deep in the Golden Rams zone as they were trying to move upfield, springing McGrath on a breakaway. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, West Chester's Erin O'Brien got a piece of the shot, but not enough as it bounced over her and into the back of the net.   
• The Warriors nearly tied it up just a couple of minutes later off a penalty corner of their own, but the goal was disallowed. Fifth-year midfielder Elaiana Rivera-Lagalla settled the insert, but the shot came from just outside the arc despite beating O'Brien.
• McGrath took the Warriors' final five shots from the end of the third quarter through the final horn, with O'Brien making four saves. However, the Warriors couldn't find the equalizer, falling 2-1 to West Chester.

 
UP NEXT
ESU has a lengthy break before beginning conference play, opening the slate at No. 2 Shippensburg. The Warriors take on the defending national champions at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Shippensburg, Pa.