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Photos by Tom Silknitter
WEST GOSHEN >> Winning a huge postseason clash is exhilarating enough, but to win it coming from behind — at the tail end of a so far unblemished season? Well, that puts the accomplishment at a whole other stratosphere.
That is exactly what the West Chester lacrosse squad accomplished in the NCAA Atlantic Region Final Sunday at Vonnie Gros Field. With all of the team’s national championship aspirations in serious jeopardy, the Golden Rams finished forcefully to edge stubborn East Stroudsburg, 10-8, to advance to the NCAA Division II Semifinals in Indianapolis.
With junior Hannah Stanislawczyk leading the way, WCU staged a crucial second half rally to regain the lead for good. The top-ranked Rams’ outscored No. 17 Warriors 5-1 in one stretch in the second half of an intense quarterfinal tussle, and wound up scoring four of West Chester’s final five goals.
Along the way, WCU established a new single-season record for wins. Despite the finishing kick, however, the Rams (21-0 overall) had some struggles along the way, especially on draw controls, as well as some ground ball issues. It meant that the West Chester defense had to play for extended periods of time on numerous occasions against the upset-minded Warriors (14-6).
“It was a hard-fought battle today,” said WCU head coach Ginny Martino. “Our kids never gave up and they played with a lot of confidence. East Stroudsburg definitely fought and we had a lot of things not go our way. That will humble some teams, but these guys are resilient.”
Every time ESU inched ahead – and it happened once in each half — the Rams came back. It’s hard to fault WCU for having some trouble playing from behind because the Rams have been so dominant all season, it’s happened so rarely. In fact, West Chester had never trailed in the second half of a match all season, until Sunday.
“They are coolly confident,” Martino said. “It didn’t shake us at all. They are unbreakable and played with their heart and soul today.”
Down 6-5 early in the second half, Stanislawczyk took control and soon it was a 9-6 advantage. Following a very long stretch of playing on defense, Stanislawczyk registered a natural hat trick with two goals in the final 4:06 of the third quarter, and another just 30 seconds into the fourth to give WCU its first two-goal lead since the early going.
“We needed it and Hannah stepped up,” Martino said.
“All season long, this kid (Stanislawczyk) has been huge, scoring goals when we need them. And she is a very smart attacker. She doesn’t force things. If things don’t go her way, she bounces right back.”
And when teammate Meg O’Donnell converted a loose ball into a tally, the Rams were in front 9-6 with 12:10 to go. East Stroudsburg ended the run with a goal at the 8:36 mark, and the Warriors had two other chances soon after that, but WCU keeper Jess Gorr came up with a pair of key saves.
“We came in with a plan defensively and I think we executed it very well,” said Gorr, a graduate of Bishop Shanahan. “(East Stroudsburg) didn’t have a lot of shooting space and we tried to force them to take bad shots, or move it to the middle, and I know our defense can collapse and get the ball.”
Stanislawczyk then ended any doubt with her fifth goal of the contest with less than four minutes on the clock.
“If I see a lane and know that I can go, I try to take it,” Stanislawczyk said. “I knew in a critical game like this, I need to be smart with my shooting.”
The national semifinals will be played next Friday at at Key Stadium on the campus of the University of Indianapolis, with the winners squaring off for the NCAA crown on Sunday. The four semifinalists will be re-seeded following the completion of the four regionals, and West Chester will then find out its opponent on Friday.
“Our goal all along from the very beginning was to make care of business in the PSAC and then set our sights on Indianapolis,” Martino said. “I think we’ve learned so much from very game. Teams are doing all kinds of things to knock us off, but the mental toughness this team has is off the charts.”
It was a typical start as WCU’s Taylor O’Brien and Lindsay Monigle scored quick goals in the opening 2:35, but it was pretty clear from very early on it was going to be a challenge to get it past Warriors’ keeper Riley DiFiore.
East Stroudsburg surged back with three scores in a row to take the lead. It was the first – and only other from this season – that WCU trailed in a competitive clash since back on April 1st against ’22 NCAA champion Indianapolis.
After hitting a post for the second time in the early going, Stanislawczyk scored the equalizer. Later in the second Monigle also knotted the score at 4-4 and then Lila McMahon Skates but the Rams in front less than a minute after that. But ESU responded with a free position tally, and it was deadlocked at 5-5 at the half.
“We hit the post, it seemed like, 800 times,” Martino said. “It was excessive. And there were (missed) ground balls and balls out of bounds, but we never gave up the fight. And this is going to prepare us for the next round.”
Midway through the second half, Martino switched things up by moving junior Cassidy Hirsh in for the draw and moving out sophomore Keri Barnett. And with Barnett and Stanislawczyk in the circle, the draws were much more competitive.
“Keri is a huge part of our draw team,” Martino explained. “We mixed around our chess pieces a little bit because we weren’t as successful in the draws. We needed to make that change because draws are everything in this game.”
The Rams peppered the cage with total of 40 shots. And even though Difiore stopped 18 – 11 in the first half – it was eventually enough. At the other end, Gorr notched a career-high 15 saves for West Chester.
“It was frustrating, but it was nothing that was going to slow this team down,” Stanislawczyk said.
“The one thing we sort of struggled with today was our shot selection,” Martino added. “(Difiore) made a lot of key saves, but we also didn’t throw enough quality shots at her.”
Monigle chipped in two goals and an assist, and Barnett added two assists.
“West Chester has a lot of offensive threats, so we wanted to play (Stanislawczyk) straight up,” Said ESU head coach Xeni Barakos Yoder. “She is a very good player. But (Lindsay) Monigle only had two (goals) and Keri Barnett had none. We were able to take them out of the play, which was important for us.”
Emily Mitarotondo and Madison Bagatta each had two goals to pace the Warriors.
“We played a very strong game today and had a lot of opportunities,” Barakos Yoder said. “I am sad we lost, but we played a good game and we can hang our hat on that.”
West Chester 10, East Stroudsburg 8
East Stroudsburg 2 3 1 2 — 8
West Chester 2 3 2 3 — 10
East Stroudsburg goals: Mitarotonda 2, Bagatta 2, Fitzpatrick, Schiemer, Heller, Hallman.
West Chester goals: Stanislawczyk 5, Monigle 2, O’Donnell, McMahon Skates, O’Brien.
Goalie saves: Difiore (ES) 18, Gorr (WC) 15.
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