EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The East Stroudsburg women’s lacrosse is coming off a dramatic, 13-12 win in overtime over West Chester in the regional championship - a win that earned the Warriors a spot in the Division II Final Four, their second straight trip and third in the last four seasons.
"Definitely crazy," East Strousdburg senior attack Madison Bagatta said. "I’m still definitely processing how insane this all is and I think it’s really great that it shows that all of hard work is really paying off.”
Just like it did last year, and in 2018 - experiences that can only help this time around.
"It’s a very high-pressure situation," East Stroudsburg senior defense Chelsea Allie recalled. "So, I think after two times being there, we’re kind of like ‘OK, we got this. It’s fine. We’ve been here before,’ and we kind of know what it feels like to be on that stage, I guess you could say and I think we’re going to be just fine this weekend.”
No matter what happens, the Warriors will add another regional trophy to the case, but they want more. They’re paired against Queens University of Charlotte in the national semifinal, the same team that beat them in this game last year. So, revenge is clearly a factor.
”They’re the reason we didn’t get to play our final game last year," East Stroudsburg graduate defense Kayleigh Pokrivka said. "So, we want to not only take that away from them, but take that opportunity to get to that point and play that final game.”
”We are ready to go," Allie added. "We are determined. We are ready to get to that national championship game and win the whole thing.”
Like the field hockey team did in 2015 – the only national championship in school history, at least for now.
”You come back in a week and I’ll let you know, OK?” Pokrivka said.