West Chester falls to Pace in Division II women’s lacrosse national championship

Pace blitzed West Chester from the start of the game, snatching the national championship early.

Junior midfielder Meg O'Donnell was instrumental in propelling West Chester women's lacrosse into the NCAA Division II championship.Read moreWest Chester Athletics

by James Zuhlke

Published May 21, 2023, 6:12 p.m. ET

Pace scored 10 goals in the first quarter and was never challenged as it beat West Chester, 19-9, for the NCAA Division II women’s lacrosse national championship Sunday in Indianapolis.

Pace (21-2) blitzed West Chester (22-1) with eight straight goals to open the game before the Golden Rams could even get off a shot. West Chester had only two possessions in the first 12 minutes.

Goalie Jessica Gorr did what she could to keep West Chester in the game, but it was nowhere near enough to halt the Setters’ momentum. Gorr made five saves during Pace’s opening run and finished the game with 10.

West Chester mustered just two shots and committed six turnovers in the first 15 minutes and that took the Golden Rams out of the game.

West Chester got goals from Keri Barnett (Archbishop Carroll) and Lindsay Monigle late in the first half and trailed 15-2 at the break.Monigle led West Chester with three goals and three assists. She ends her career with 299 points, sixth all-time at the school.

NCAA record set

West Chester was playing in its 11th Division II national championship game and fell to 2-9 all-time in that game … the 11 appearances in the title game breaks a tie with Adelphi for the most championship game appearances … West Chester’s 22 wins on the year tied the NCAA Division II record for most in a single season … the 18 goals allowed are the most by a team in an NCAA Tournament game.