UPDATE: Due to heavy rain and lightning forecasted for Friday in East Stroudsburg, both semifinal games have been moved to Saturday. Mercyhurst and West Chester will play at 11 a.m., with IUP and ESU following at 2 p.m. Original preview - with original day/time - below.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
(4) IUP Crimson Hawks (11-6, 9-3 PSAC)
at (1) East Stroudsburg Warriors (15-2, 11-1 PSAC)
Friday, May 5, 2017 | 1 p.m.
East Stroudsburg, Pa. | Whitenight Field
Tickets: $10 adults, $5 children and senior citizens, FREE for PSAC students with ID
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THE GAME AT GLANCE
The fourth seed Crimson Hawks hit the road as they square off against top seed East Stroudsburg in the semifinal round of the 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Women's Lacrosse Championships on Friday. Opening draw from ESU's Whitenight Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. IUP advanced to the semifinals after a nail-biting 5-4 home win over Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals this past Tuesday. The Warriors earned a first round bye and hosing duties for the PSAC final four after winning the regular season title.
STORYLINES / WHAT TO WATCH FOR
* Also advancing to the weekend and playing in the other semifinal are second seed West Chester and third seed Mercyhurst; The winners of each semifinal will meet for the PSAC championship on Sunday at 1 p.m.
* The Crimson Hawks are making the program's sixth straight PSAC tournament, including their fourth semifinals appearance during that span; IUP has never played for a conference title
* This meeting is a rematch of the regular season finale, won by the Warriors on their home field, 16-8;
Ally Burrows (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus) scored three goals for the Crimson Hawks, who were outshot 40-20
* The Crimson Hawks are 10-13 in their series with East Stroudsburg, which dates back to the program's inception in 1998; IUP had won five straight in the series entering this season
* Friday's matchup will be the first postseason meeting between these two schools in their series history
* The Warriors are arguably the top defensive team in the PSAC, giving up 9.1 goals per game while leading the conference in ground balls (392) and save percentage (.532), while ranking second in caused turnovers (209); ESU has seven players who have scored at least 20 goals this season, as the team averages 13.6 per game
* IUP also boasts a very good goalie in junior
Angela Lontoc (Columbus, Ohio/Dublin Scioto), who has a 9.66 goals against average and is third in the PSAC with a .506 save percentage and 9.94 saves per game
* Burrows leads the Crimson Hawks with 52 goals, ranking fourth in the PSAC with 3.06 goals per game; Sophomore
Adriana Greco (Sound Beach, N.Y./Rocky Point) has 38 goals and 11 assists, while freshman
Kelly Shields (Grasonville, Md./Kent Island) has a team-best 21 assists even after missing five games due to injury
* The Friday forecast in East Stroudsburg includes heavy showers with thunderstorms, weather that could effect both semifinal contests
