PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 17, 2011) – Showcasing how much it has grown in one short year, the Kutztown University women's lacrosse team overcame a late deficit to defeat Philadelphia University, 12-10, in an overtime thriller Thursday afternoon. (BOXSCORE)
The Golden Bears (3-1 overall) concluded their season opening four-game road trip with a win to remember. They enjoyed a sweet ride home as they sipped on celebratory Shamrock milkshakes from McDonald's and traded text messages with friends and family members.
Trailing, 10-7, with five minutes remaining, the Golden Bears turned the tables and finished with a flourish by scoring the final five goals. Included in their goal-scoring binge was the game-tying free-position tally from Krystine Beodeker (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) with 20 seconds remaining.
“I was so nervous taking that shot,” Beodeker said. “I was glad to have the opportunity in that situation, but it was definitely nerve-wrecking. I was glad the shot was on my favorite spot to shoot. I just focused on shooting the ball at the goalie's waist and luckily it went in.”
That goal energized Kutztown and carried it through the extra six minute session. Amanda Bushong (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) gave the Golden Bears the lead for good, 11-10, with a goal 63 seconds into overtime. Jen Dunne (Chalfront, PA/Central Bucks South), playing her first game of the season, concluded the rally when she added an insurance score with two minutes remaining. The Golden Bears controlled overtime by outshooting the Rams 5-1.
Freshman keeper JoAnn McLaughlin (Cape May, NJ/Lower Cape) sparkled as she finished with 14 saves. Kutztown received goals from eight different players. Kelsey Hogan (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) led the Golden Bears with three goals. Dunne and Rachel Mehaffey (Woodbury, NJ/West Deptford) had two goals each. Emily Solt (Bowmanstown, PA/Concord) and Leann Pica recorded assists in overtime. Marisa Kalodner (Havertown, PA/Haverford) led KU with four caused turnovers.
“It was such a good feeling and everybody was psyched,” Dunne said. “The first thing our captain Justine Simonsen (Hatboro, PA/Upper Moreland) said after the game was that this was a total team effort. Everybody did their job and we continued to work together.”
Overall, the Golden Bears displayed plenty of heart, resilience, and patience during the two-hour roller coaster ride that had spectators riveted. After the Rams and Golden Bears traded the first four goals, Hogan, Pica, and Solt scored to conclude the first half, which helped KU construct a 5-2 halftime advantage.
The Rams christened the second half by scoring eight of the first 10 goals to build a 10-7 lead with 6:45 remaining. Kutztown still held a 7-6 advantage after Dunne's unassisted goal with 13:41 left.
“We always believed that we would win the game,” Boedeker said. “We know that even three minutes is a lot of time in a lacrosse game so we were able to keep our heads, run our plays and slow everything down.”
Kutztown returns to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts East Stroudsburg University in its home opener starting at 1 p.m. at Keystone Field. It's the beginning of a five-game home stand for the much-improved Golden Bears.
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