KUTZTOWN, Pa. (October 31, 2011)—The Kutztown University women's soccer team will take on Gannon University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) quarterfinal match on Tuesday, Nov.1 at West Chester University's John A. Farrell Stadium.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at KU's Keystone Field, but due to field conditions, West Chester will serve as the site for the postseason matchup.

Ticket prices for this quarterfinal match will be $7 for adults and $2 for students.  PSAC students will be admitted for free with ID.  PSAC passes will be accepted.

Kutztown (14-4 overall, 11-3 PSAC) enters the PSAC playoffs as the No.2 seed, while Gannon (9-4-4 overall, 6-4-4 PSAC) is the No.7 seed.

Earlier in the season, the Golden Bears defeated the Golden Knights 4-1, on Sept. 10 in Erie, Pa. Neither team has won a PSAC Championship. Kutztown leads the all-time series against Gannon 3-1. Last year, Kutztown reached the PSAC semifinals, where it dropped a 1-0 decision to the hands of California (Pa.).

The Golden Bears are ranked second in the Atlantic Regional rankings, while Gannon is ranked eighth.

Kutztown enters the postseason with high hopes and is looking forward to a successful journey.

During the regular season, KU enjoyed leading the program to its tenth straight season of 10-plus wins and peaking at 16th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll.

“We are really looking forward to this game and we are very excited to be back in the conference playoffs,” Kutztown University head coach Erik Burstein said. “The quality of the teams in this conference is tremendous, and to have played well enough throughout the season to finish second is a testament to the great players we have in our program ... I am very proud of them.”

Junior Maria Borland (Hagerstown, MD/Hagerstown) has been the fighting force in Kutztown's offense this season. She leads the Golden Bears with 13 goals and one assist, tallying 27 points. Borland has recorded two hat tricks this season and is ranked 21st in NCAA Division II in goals per game (.813).

However the speedy Borland has had help in senior Carolynne Kahl (Bethel, PA/Tuplehocken) and sophomore Janine Valerio (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township). The duo has scored five goals each this season.

Sophomore goalie Casey Behrendt (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) has played all but 45 minutes this season and holds a 0.68 goals against average and .797 save percentage. She is fourth among PSAC goalkeepers in goals against average.

Head coach Colin Petersen's squad will be looking for its first postseason victory as a PSAC member, suffering quarterfinal setbacks against Indiana (Pa.) (1-0) in 2008 and California (Pa.) (2-0) in 2009. The Lady Knights missed the postseason for the first time last year.

Amanda Sharbaugh leads the Golden Knights with 17 goals, five assists and 39 points. Sharbaugh broke Gannon's single-season record for points (39) while assuming sole possession of the school's single-season record for goals (17) during that match. She is ninth in NCAA Division II in points per game (2.27).

Justine Rodrigues has scored five goals this season and Michelle Genetin has scored three. Goalie Maggie Brinkman has played every minute in this season and has a 1.22 goals against average and .776 save percentage.

“Gannon is a very dangerous team and we are well aware of their ability to score goals,” Burstein said. “I think this will be a very challenging game for us and we are certainly prepared for this second game to be a close one. We played very well against Gannon last time and we will need that type of performance again tomorrow if we are going to advance to the semifinal.”

The winner of this game will move onto the semifinals and play the winner of the West Chester vs. Slippery Rock game on Friday, Nov. 4.


Women's Quarterfinal Matches on Tuesday, November 1
#7 Gannon at #2 Kutztown, 1:00 pm (THIS MATCH WILL BE PLAYED AT WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY DUE TO FIELD CONDITIONS)
#6 West Chester at #3 Slippery Rock, 1:00 pm
#8 Bloomsburg at #1 California, 6:00 pm
#5 IUP at #4 Edinboro, 6:00 pm