KUTZTOWN, PA (October 30, 2010) – In one of its most exciting games of the year, the Kutztown University field hockey team defeated C.W. Post 4-3 in overtime in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup Saturday afternoon at University Field. (BOXSCORE)
Kutztown (9-6 overall, 4-3 PSAC East) is ranked fifth in the latest Kookaburra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll. C.W. Post (8-8 overall, 1-5 PSAC East) entered the game ranked seventh. Saturday's contest was nothing less than expected as attending fans were kept on the edge of their seats for most of the game.
The Golden Bears struck first in the scoring column as Jenna Gregory scored off an Erin Reynolds pass in front of the net. This was Gregory's eighth goal of 2010 as she is ranked second on Kutztown in scoring.
Atop the list of goal scorers for Kutztown lies Abbey Sheeler, who added another goal on Saturday as she gave KU the lead with just under ten minutes into the game.
After going into the second half with a 2-1 lead, Kutztown got a seemingly comfortable lead when Jamie Koenig scored 37 minutes into the game. Koenig was assisted by Gregory.
C.W. Post, however, was able to counter with an offensive spark of their own as the Pioneers were able to net two goals in the second half to send the game into overtime. Scoring for C.W. Post was Carlee Dragon in the first half, as well as Amanda Nunn who scored twice in the second half.
After Kutztown had changed goalies at halftime by replacing Emily Falko with Karly Waltman, head coach Betty Wesner decided to go back with her starting goalkeeper and put Falko back in the game. Falko ended the game with five saves. Waltman ended with two saves.
The first overtime period featured a flurry of Kutztown shots as forwards Reynolds and Sheeler often found themselves with scoring opportunities in front of the C.W. Post net. Fortunately for the Pioneers, goalkeeper Cortney Colern had a terrific showing in the overtime periods and gave C.W. Post 26 total saves throughout the game.
Kutztown seemed to control most of Saturday's game, as the ball was in C.W. Post's end for the majority of the game. Kutztown held a large advantage in penalty corners, 23-4.
The second 15-minute overtime period was non-stop action, as both teams were looking to take advantage of the low stamina of its opponent due to the 85 minutes already played. During one of Kutztown's offensive attacks, a foul was committed by C.W. Post which gave the Golden Bears a penalty stroke halfway through the second overtime. Coach Wesner called upon freshman Samantha Carberry to come off the bench and take the potential game-winning stroke for Kutztown. Carberry's shot deflected off of Colern's left pad and trickled wide of the net.
The Pioneers were unable to find the momentum to build a charge of their own in the second overtime as Kutztown continued to apply the pressure with shots on goal and developing corner opportunities. As the final horn sounded ending the second overtime, a strokeoff competition was needed to determine a winner among these two top-10 ranked teams.
100 minutes of play was not enough as a best of five shots would determine the winner in Saturday's conference matchup. Returning to goal for the Golden Bears was Waltman to begin the final shootout. Scoring for C.W. Post were Vicky DeRosa and Amanda Nann, as Waltman stopped the attempts from Brie-Claire Drost and Mia Paltrineri. Finding the back of the net for Kutztown were Brittany Krall, Sheeler, Amy Dando, and Reynolds, who scored the winning stroke for Kutztown.
Saturday was a monumental win for Kutztown as the players jumped and rejoiced in excitement of their latest victory. Kutztown will hope to carry that momentum into Tuesday's crucial PSAC East matchup against Bloomsburg University beginning at 4:00 p.m.
