Chance for revenge

With conference play starting to dominate most schedules, teams are getting into the back end of their schedule. Most teams have just one game this weekend, with the weekend's biggest contest coming Saturday when West Chester travels to East Stroudsburg.

No. 1 Shippensburg

The Red Raiders look to go to 10-0 on the season when it travels to Indiana (Pa.) for a Saturday game. This will be the second time the schools have met this season, with Shippensburg pulling out a 4-2 victory on Sept. 21. In that game, the Raiders got balanced scoring, with four different players scoring and two goals coming in each half.

Shippensburg is outshooting its opponent by an average of 20 shots per game and is outscoring teams nearly 4.5 to 1. Bre White is the team’s leading scorer with eight goals and seven assists.

No. 2 Millersville

The Marauders have made a slow climb up to the second ranking after starting the year at four. They look to stay in position to finish their climb should Shippensburg lose with a road game at Slippery Rock on Saturday. Slippery Rock was No. 10 last weekend but dropped out of the poll this week.

In seven games this season, Millersville has given up just four goals and goalkeeper Lauren Sotzin has had to make just 19 saves. The Marauders have put up 28 goals this season, led by Rachel Dickinson’s five. 

No. 3 West Chester

The Golden Rams seem to have stabilized themselves, winning three consecutive games after dropping two of three. But now, they have to travel to another hot team, going to No. 6 East Stroudsburg on Saturday. Back in September, West Chester took care of East Stroudsburg 8-1 behind two goals from Alayna Brown.

Half of Brown’s season total for goals came in that game and she trails Kelsi Lykens for the team lead by three goals. Lykens also has a team-high six assists which gives her a team-high 20 points.

No. 4 Stonehill

For the first time in six games, the Skyhawks gave up more than one goal but still defeated Bentley on Tuesday. That improved Stonehill’s record to 9-0 and it looks for its 10th win of the season when it hosts Assumption on Friday.

Erika Kelly, who has 18 goals this season, leads the nation with nearly 4.5 points per game and is averaging more than two goals scored per game. Elizabeth Genovese has made 40 saves while allowing 17 goals.

No. 5 C.W. Post

The Pioneers have shut out opponents in their previous two games and three of the past four. Sunday provides C.W. Post to get another shutout as it hosts Merrimack in for the first time as a member of the Northeast-10 Conference. Only once this season has C.W. Post allowed more than one goal as it has won its first eight games of the season.

Behind the goaltender combination of Ericka Parks and Meredith Stocklin, the Pioneers are allowing .63 goals per game. Those two have made a combined 28 saves and allowed five goals. Carlee Dragon, Keliann Margiotta and Lyn-Marie Wilson all have scored more than the five goals Pioneer opponents have scored.

No. 6 East Stroudsburg

The Warriors are back in the poll after a two-week absence and are welcomed back in its first weekend with two-time defending national champion West Chester on Saturday. The Warriors faced the Golden Rams in their first game as an unranked opponent and lost 8-1 back on Sept. 21.

After rotating through a couple of goalkeepers to start the year, sophomore Alexis Charles has started the past three games for the Warriors and won each of them. Charles has made 21 saves while allowing six goals for a .778 save percentage. 

No. 7 Bloomsburg

The Huskies came close to knocking off the nation’s top-ranked team last week before losing in double overtime to Shippensburg. They try to avoid any sort of letdown when they travel to Mansfield for a game on Saturday. Earlier this year, Bloomsburg hosted and defeated Mansfield 4-1 on Sept. 21.

The Huskies leading scorer Felicia Domenici is not only ranked as the top scorer on her team, but she is also ranked second in PSAC in goals scored per game. Domenici is two goals behind first place Ally Roth from East Stroudsburg who currently has scored 11 goals in the nine games she has played. Domenici has scored nine goals in the eight games Bloomsburg has played so far this season.

No. 8 Limestone

After a busy two-week stretch, things slow down a bit for the Saints. Their only game this weekend comes Friday when its hosts Mercy in the second meeting between the teams this year. On Sept. 22, Limestone went to Mercy and came away with a 3-1 victory.

In the previous meeting with Mercy, Rachel Goromonzi had a hat trick to account for three of her team-high 10 goals. In goal for the Saints, Lindsay Hinton has made 44 saves and given up 14 goals for a .759 save percentage.

No. 9 Bentley

The Falcons have to wait until Sunday to try to get the taste of their overtime loss to Stonehill on Tuesday out of their mouth. On Sunday, Bentley hosts Dowling in its last non-conference regular-season game of the year. Two of the Falcons’ three losses have come to non-conference opponents.

Gina Lirange leads the team with eight goals while Meghan Talerman is second with five goals. Katie Keller has started all nine games this season while making 43 saves against 11 goals allowed for a .796 save percentage. 

No. 10 Mercyhurst

The Lakers responded after losing two in a row to post a 6-0 victory against Dowling last time out. They look to establish a winning streak on Saturday when it hosts Kutztown in its PSAC home opener. In last season’s meeting against Kutztown, the Lakers picked up a 2-0 win.

In eight games this year, Blair Pembleton leads the team with both six goals and 13 points. Jess Wess has started all eight games for the Lakers, making 37 saves and giving up 19 goals for a .661 save percentage.