The Fearless 5ive:
ADELPHI
EAST STROUDSBURG
INDIANAPOLIS
LEMOYNE
WEST CHESTER
It is going to be interesting to see what the University of Indianapolis is going to do for an encore after winning a national championship last spring. After being on the edge of greatness for some time, the Greyhounds broke through to win the national final in a thrilling game.
Peyton Romig, who was overlooked by so many Division I programs, was an absolute monster in her last three years at Indy. She won draws, finished, and took care of the ball. She was even tapped to play in a professional league, By The Pros. But not only is Romig gone through graduation, head coach James Delaney was let go by the school in August and was not rehired by any collegiate lacrosse program.
East Stroudsburg, the runner-up team from last year’s title game, is eager to return to the Final Four this fall. The Warriors’ devastating tandem of junior Emily Mitarotonda (89 goals) and redshirt senior Kiki Fitzpatrick (49 assists) returns. In goal, there is going to be an interesting situation. Graduate transfer Riley DiFiore (York College) will be looking to get time in goal alongside returning player Bella Gismondi, who had four starts a year ago.
Within the always-competitive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, West Chester is a likely rival for conference honors. The Rams return leading scorers Lindsay Monigle (63 assists), Keri Barnett (78 goals), and Hannah Stanislawczyk (81 goals), all of whom could score at any time within the possession clock. A huge part of the West Chester strategy is the play of defensive midfielder Grace Frasso. She had 87 draw controls, second only to Barnett.
LeMoyne is a team which could make some major moves if everyone is healthy. Leading scorer Jessica Mennelly (63 goals) returns, and she along with teammate Taylor Reich combined for nearly 100 draw controls a year ago. Reich and Lilly Locastro will lead the close defense in front of Paige Crandall.
But if there’s a really, really hungry team in the Division II hedgerow. it’s Adelphi. The Panthers, one season ago, got back to the Final Four for the first time since winning the 2019 national championship. But Adelphi ran into a determined Indianapolis side in the national semifinals and were eliminated just short of their goal. On paper, this seems to be a nice team. Kerrin Heiser and Izzy Grant were in the top three in scoring a year ago, and Alexandra Beebe (26 ground-ball pickups and 34 caused turnovers) will lead the defense.
