East Stroudsburg women's lacrosse approaches perfect season

East Stroudsburg University women’s lacrosse head coach Xeni Barakos-Yoder

Even though such efforts are well-meaning, it's not always a guarantee that the rest of the players will buy in. For ESU, however, the buy-in was there.

"Like coach said, we hang out a lot, but it's never forced. That's a huge detail for us," sophomore attacker Sadie Kauffman said. "If we get a text saying 'Let's go make s'mores,' no one is responding 'Oh, I really wanted to do this instead.' Everybody wanted to go."

Barakos-Yoder has coached teams that are coach-led, where the head coach has to be the catalyst for inspiration and motivation. But she said she doesn't have to do that this year as East Stroudsburg is player led — the players are taking the opportunity into their own hands and making the most of it.

Positive camaraderie, dedication to the process and that internal fire has ESU on the verge of an accomplishment it has yet to reach in program history.

ESU women's lacrosse's two-way tenacity

Offensively, East Stroudsburg has one of the most potent offenses in all of Division II, being one of only three schools with over 300 goals as a team, and the only team in the conference.

The offense is headlined by Kauffman, whose 82 goals leads the conference by a wide margin and currently leads the country in goals scored. But she is far from the only offensive threat on the team: junior Ariana Tucci is second on the team (and in the conference) with 55 goals, and Jolee Roth and Paige Moreland are both top-5 in the PSAC in assists while approaching 30 goals each.

East Stroudsburg women's lacrosse's Jolee Roth (28) attempts a shot on goal agaainst Shippensburg on April 15, 2026

"We need each other," Kauffman said. "I need them to score like they need me to score. Off the bench too, we have a lot of good players coming in that work well with our starters."

Kauffman added that many players are often at the field an hour, or even two hours, early to get extra reps in to build that trust, along with the bonding off the field, whether that's grabbing dinner together or going to get ice cream. And it's those off-field moments that help solidify trust.

"We were talking about earlier this season how, even if there's only about an inch of space, like, you still should trust your person by throwing them the ball, they're gonna catch it," Kauffman said. "You just have to think of the positives, because if you think of the negatives, the negatives are gonna happen."

Defensively, ESU has shut the water off on almost every team they've played, allowing double-digit goals only once in 16 games. Only Slippery Rock, which is ranked ahead of ESU in the national standings, has allowed less goals in the PSAC. Atwell says the team is comfortable using man-to-man or zone defense.

"The key is that we're a unit," Atwell said. "At the end of the day, we work together in everything we do. There's not one person that stands out. I think everybody has their strengths and we all contribute to the goal."

East Stroudsburg ends the season against West Chester, so there's a chance the Golden Rams reach double figures a second time.

More: Vote for the Pocono Record Athletes of the Week for April 13-18

Legacy-defining season

East Stroudsburg University women's lacrosse's Ariana Tucci (27) runs past the Shippensburg defender on Apri 15, 2026.

Barakos-Yoder is an ESU lifer, from her time as a player to nearly a decade as a head coach. She's seen a lot of success at Whitenight Field, so much so that the regular season, while memorable, is only secondary to the playoff hopes she and her players have.

There's still the conference tournament to get through before the Warriors can look at the national tournament, but the nine-year head coach understands the opportunity this year's team has given itself.

"This is what we promised we'd prep them for, and we remind them of that quite often: 'This is what you signed up for. This hard work is what you said you wanted to do. And you are so close, so close,'" Barakos-Yoder tells her team. "There's no other option other than to keep trucking on and giving it our best and playing as a unit and playing as a family. Because if we continue to do what we've been doing, they will get everything they've ever wanted and more.

"We have 34 people who have been buying in to make the team better. A huge difference, I think, to where we're performing is because the entirety of the team is bought into what we're doing and how we're going to get there."

East Stroudsburg women's lacrosse's postseason run begins April 28, the first day of the PSAC Tournament.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: ESU women's lacrosse nears perfect season built on trust, chemistry