Photo Credits: Danny Aguilar via wcupagoldenrams.com
West Chester University’s women’s lacrosse team completed regular season play last Wednesday night with a 22–8 victory against Kutztown. With the win, The Golden Rams improved their record to 14–1 (11–1 in the conference) with their only loss coming way back on March 22 at the hands of East Stroudsburg University. The team will now prepare for the PSAC Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
Expectations were high heading into the season for the Golden Rams, as they were coming off a highly successful 2021 campaign in which they finished with a similar 13–1 record, and the team has not disappointed. West Chester outscored their opponents 263–117 this year, which is just a small indicator of how dominant they have been. They are scoring at a 53% rate compared to just 39% from their opponents. Additionally, they have done a great job of limiting turnovers on the offensive end. They have 269 turnovers on the season (17.9 per game), compared to 323 (21.5 per game) from their opponents.
Hannah Stanislawczyk, a sophomore from Mohnton, Pennsylvania, led West Chester with 60 goals on the season. Stanislawczyk had a strong ending to the season, scoring 16 goals in the Rams final three games, including 7 in the season finale against Kutztown. She will look to continue to be a force on the offensive end as West Chester advances to postseason action.
Lindsay Monigle, a senior who was named to the PSAC All Conference First Team in 2021, led the team in assists (50) and overall points (80). Her best outing came on April 9 against Shippensburg when she had five goals and five assists in the Golden Rams 21–9 thrashing of the Raiders. This was a revenge game for West Chester, as they were able to avenge a disappointing 13–9 loss from earlier in the season. Monigle has done a phenomenal job of getting her teammates involved this season and is a major part of the team’s successful campaign.
Heading into tournament play, West Chester currently holds the number one seat in the PSAC East by way of a tie with East Stroudsburg University (ESU) as they look to capture their fourth straight PSAC title. ESU has one more game left on their schedule but this has not taken place as of the time of this writing. Other teams that have clinched a berth in the PSAC Tournament include Millersville, Seton Hill, Mercyhurst and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
“We came into the season as a young team, majority of us were underclassmen,” said Courtney Medwin, a sophomore from Coral Springs, Florida. “I think a lot of teams underestimated us because of that but over the course of the season we learned from our 4 seniors and performed as a unit. I believe our teamwork and leadership helped grow to be one of the strongest teams in the conference.” When asked about how the team feels heading into the postseason, Medwin said. “We are confident heading into the postseason! After our recent win against ESU we know we have what it takes to beat them. After we succeed in the PSAC tournament I believe we will ride that wave into nationals ready to dominate.”
West Chester will begin their championship quest this Tuesday in the first round of the PSAC Tournament. For more information on the Golden Rams as they continue their successful campaign including game times, ticket sales, box scores and roster information, visit the West Chester Athletics website.
Erick Klambara is a third-year Media & Culture major with a minor in Journalism. EK924666@wcupa.edu