Florida Southern, East Stroudsburg, Pace, Maryville Advance to D-II Women's Semis

Earlier this week, East Stroudsburg’s Sadie Kauffman was named to the USA Lacrosse All-America first team. On Saturday afternoon, the sophomore attacker strongly validated that selection by scoring a game-high nine goals to lead ESU to an impressive 18-12 win over Kutztown in the Atlantic Region final.

East Stroudsburg (20-1) advances to the national semifinals in Rochester, joining the three other quarterfinal round winners — Florida Southern, Pace and Maryville. The teams will be reseeded by the NCAA to determine the matchups for Thursday’s semifinal games.

Kauffman registered her third game of eight goals or better this season and dominated in every facet of the contest. In addition to her scoring, she added game-highs of 14 draw controls, eight ground balls and three caused turnovers. The Warriors dominated possession by winning 25 of 32 draws and claimed their fifth regional title since 2018.

In the East Region, Pace used a 5-0 run over an 18-minute stretch in the second half to come from behind for a 16-12 win at No.1 seed Adelphi. Midfielders Marissa Doty and Annie Sheehan had huge offensive days to lead Pace, finishing with a combined 17 points. Doty tallied five goals and four assists, while Sheehan contributed four goals and four assists.

No. 4 seed Pace (16-5) has now won 11 of its last 12 games after starting the season with a 4-4 mark. The Setters return to the final four for the first time since winning the national championship in 2023.

In the tightest game of the quarterfinals, Maryville survived 11-10 against UIndy in the Midwest Region final with a pair of fourth-quarter free position goals from All-Americans Paige Murphy and Helen Bae accounting for the difference.

Bae’s goal at 6:26 gave the Saints an 11-9 lead, but UIndy’s Reese Fahlke cut that in half with her fourth of the game two minutes later. UIndy then hit the post on two potential game-tying shots, including a last attempt just as the final horn sounded.

Murphy, the first player in NCAA Division I or Division II history to score at least 100 goals in three seasons, finished with four goals for Maryville (16-4), which earned its first final four appearance.

Florida Southern was the first team to earn its way to Rochester by defeating No. 1-ranked Flagler 14-9 in the South Region final played on Friday. The Mocs spotted visiting Flagler an early 4-1 lead then responded with an 11-2 run to take control.

Louise Aloi and Jenna Vetter led FSC’s offensive charge with four goals each, while a swarming defensive effort forced Flagler into a season-high 20 turnovers.

The victory avenged Florida Southern’s only loss of the season, a six-goal setback at Flagler in late February, and extended FSC’s winning streak to 15 games. The Mocs (19-1) return to the NCAA final four for fifth time overall and first time since 2023.