Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
East Stroudsburg stuns West Chester, 16-14
WEST GOSHEN » It’s kind of difficult to prepare for something that is completely new and different. And that’s the situation the unbeaten West Chester lacrosse squad found itself in during the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament on Saturday at Vonnie Gros Field.
The sixth-ranked Golden Rams were extended further than any opponent’s been able to push all season by No. 13 East Stroudsburg, and a youthful WCU squad had trouble handling being in such unfamiliar territory. The visiting Warriors trailed by two at the half, but scored six of the first seven goals of the second half to seize the lead – and the momentum – and went on to stun the Rams, 16-14.
“We just never really got into our groove this game,” said head coach Ginny Martino. “We didn’t connect like we usually do. We were kind of flat.
“I don’t know if that’s the right word, but we certainly did not have our mojo. We didn’t have the attack or the defense clicking together, and our transition was kind of all over the place. So it was a hodgepodge of a hot mess.”
The setback abruptly ends West Chester season at 19-1 overall. And it came against a foe that the Rams toppled handily during the regular season.
“I believe we were a different team when we saw them earlier in the season,” said Warriors’ head coach Zeni Barakos-Yoder. “A win over West Chester is always a good win.”
East Stroudsburg (15-3 overall) rode its hot goalkeeper through an early offensive onslaught by WCU, which ultimately gave the ESU attack time to stage an impressive second half comeback. The Warriors now advance to the NCAA Semifinals next weekend in Tampa.
“Anytime you lose in the playoffs, it’s shocking,” Martino said. “You never expect to lose. It’s frustrating and upsetting, but we’ll be back.”
The Rams had an edge in every statistical category other than the scoring total. West Chester peppered ESU keeper Tatyana Petteway with a total of 40 shots, but was only able to get 14 past her. The home team was plus-10 in shots and also led the way in draw controls (+6), ground balls (+1) and free position shots (+6). But WCU never recovered from the poor start to the second half, where the Warriors went from being down 9-7 to being ahead 13-10.
“That’s where some of the head-hanging started,” said senior defender Sarah Gebre. “We were like kind of like: ‘what’s happening?’”
East Stroudsburg scored the first three goals of the second half to take its first lead since 1-0. Three more quickly followed including a goal by Emma Rufolo that came when WCU’s keeper inexplicably vacated the cage.
The Rams fought back to tie it at 13-13 midway through the half, but ESU quickly regained the lead with three goals of its own, including a loose ball that bounced off several WCU players and into the net.
“We hung our heads pretty early in the game, I thought,” Martino said. “Throughout the season, we’d get fired up after giving up a goal and had that faith and confidence to be able to come back.
“We had a lot of unforced errors when we had plenty of time. I think the youth of the team kind of showed through.”
The Rams failed to capitalize on several prime scoring chances in the final five minutes, including a pointblank save by Petteway on a shot by Sami Barnett. Junior Maggie Stella finally scored in the last minute of play, but it was too late.
“(Petteway) came out on fire, but we didn’t do our usual shot placement and fakes,” Stella explained.
“Tatyana is a great goalie and she is peaking at the right time,” Barakos-Yoder added. “She thrives in difficult situations. Her performance today was just lights out.”
A transfer from Division I Robert Morris, Stella led the way with four goals. Emily Schulze chipped in three goals, while Barnett, Tara Morrissey and Tatum Altman each had two.
“Our team has been fantastic this season,” Martino said. “You hope they remember this feeling and carry that into sparking next year.”
The finish was quite a shocker, especially considering how WCU dominated the play in the early going. The Rams raced out to a 6-2, saw the Warriors fight back to tie it at 6-all, and then ended the half with two scores in the final 2:23.
For ESU, it was the second huge comeback in two days. The Warriors trailed Mercyhurst 6-1 on Friday, but roared back to win the first round playoff game, 12-11.
“It speaks volumes for our team to come and play two difficult games, backto-back,” Barakos-Yoder said. “We were just riding the high of (Friday’s) win and we were able to carry it over.”
For West Chester, it was a bitter loss to swallow. But the 2018 Rams had just one senior on the entire roster: Gebre. On Saturday, Martino did everything she could to settle her young team down, but nothing seemed to work.
“I spent three timeouts trying to get them to settle down and play our game,” she said. “It seemed like we were being pulled into (ESU’s) frantic style. We never did feel comfortable and feel like ourselves.