Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
West Chester wins PSAC title
Rams get NCAA bye, will host East Stroudsburg or Mercyhurst Saturday at Vonnie Gros Field
WEST CHESTER » Sixth-ranked West Chester University jumped out to an early lead, held off a furious comeback bid, and held on for a 17-12 victory over visiting Mercyhurst University in the championship game of the PSAC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament on an overcast Sunday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field.
West Chester (19-0) collected its conference-record 22nd title in the process while junior transfer Maggie Stella was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Head coach Ginny Martino picked up her 11th conference title in the process.
West Chester will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse Tournament at home next weekend when the first two rounds come to Vonnie Gros Field Friday.
The Golden Rams (19-0) is one of two undefeated teams in the nation and earned the top seed in the Atlantic Region. WCU will face the winner of Friday’s game between East Stroudsburg and Mercyhurst.
WCU will play Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Golden Rams’ 19 wins this spring is tied for the second-most in a single season in school history and are the most since 2010 (19-2). Mercyhurst (13-6), ranked 21st in the nation, dropped the conference final for the second straight year.
“It’s a great feeling,” Martino said afterwards. “It’s been a long time. But, these girls are resilient. They do not lose confidence in one another.”
The game seemed to mirror these two team’s regular-season showdown in Erie at the end of March. West Chester jumped out to a 6-1 advantage early and held a decided lead at the half. However, Mercyhurst came storming back from as many as six goals down to draw within a single tally with 13 minutes still left to play. Back in March, the Golden Rams went up 7-1, but held on for an 11-10 victory.
The difference this time was an interception at the 25-meter line by Sami Barnett on a clear attempt pass from Lakers’ goalkeeper Raelyn Tiberio. Barnett raced in all alone on Tiberio and beat the keeper to push the lead back to a pair (12-10) and breaking the visitor’s momentum. Barnett scored again 1:40 later, and the No. 1 seed in the PSAC Tournament had staved off the most serious threat to its lead.
“That interception turned the tables in the game,” WCU senior defender Sarah Gebre said, “We were fouling a lot and (Mercyhurst) had all the momentum. But, that play turned things around.”
“Our mantra all season long has been to play the next minute,” Mercyhurst head coach Kevin Cook said. “It really doesn’t matter what the score is in the game, if you lose that minute, then play the next minute. We were down at the half, and we just started the second half playing the next minute. We were lucky enough to get back to within a goal. Then, West Chester went on their final run.”
Stella posted four points (3G, 1A) to go along with eight ground balls and three caused turnovers on Sunday. She finished the tournament with nine goals, 10 points, 12 ground balls and four caused turnovers. She secured seven draw controls in Friday’s semifinal win over Lock Haven.
“With all the little things that she does for us, and you then add in the goals, she is all over the field,” Martino lauded.
Bishop Shanahan grad Tara Morrissey finished with a game-high seven points while Barnett added four goals, and Tatum Altman scored three goals and had one assist.
Freshman goalkeeper Julianne Clemens made seven saves, earning her 15th win on the season in the cage. Clemens was the backbone of a defense that was stellar all weekend.
“(Sue Burmester), our defensive coordinator, introduced a new defense this year that has shut down teams,” Gebre said. “(The defense) doesn’t get a lot of recognition because of all the goals we score. But, (Sue) has done a phenomenal job with the ‘D’.”
“Our defense was exceptional this week,” Martino added. “They always say that defense wins championships, and they certainly showed that this weekend.”
West Chester harassed Mercyhurst into 21 turnovers while draw controls were even (16-16), and the Golden Rams held the edge in ground balls, 30-24.
This year’s regional landscape was expanded from two to four regions with the top three ranked schools earning a bid to the tournament. No automatic qualifiers for conference champions exists in Division II women’s lacrosse, making all 12 selections at-large picks.