KUTZTOWN, Pa. (March 25, 2011) – Amanda Bushong (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) is from South Jersey close to the refreshing beaches and gentle oceanfront breezes. Friday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's lacrosse match between Kutztown and Mercyhurst had fans who were bundled beneath blankets, participants, and game officials thinking they were in the North Pole.
However, despite the gray skies, frigid temperatures and bone-chilling wind, Bushong and the Golden Bears continued to display small steps of progress even as seventh-ranked Mercyhurst extended its winning streak to seven games with an 11-3 victory in conditions only Frosty the Snowman would appreciate at Keystone Field. (BOXSCORE)
"This is my sixth year playing lacrosse," Bushong said. "This is definitely one of the coldest games that I've ever played in. I wish I would've wore my leg-ins because it was very cold. Just to catch the ball when it was coming at you was tough. I think I'd rather play in the warm weather."
Bushong was one of three players to score for Kutztown (4-3 overall, 0-3 PSAC East). Also scoring for the Golden Bears were Leeann Pica (Levittown, PA/Neshaminy) and Krystine Beodeker (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley). Rachel Mehaffey (Woodbury, NJ/West Deptford) handed out a pair of assists for Kutztown. Freshman keeper JoAnn McLaughlin (Cape May, NJ/Lower Cape) sparkled by finishing with nine saves in goal.
Randy Vite's (Highland Mills, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) stick was active as she led KU with three caused turnovers. Pica was around the ball often as she finished with eight groundball pickups to lead the Golden Bears. Vite also had four ground balls.
The Golden Bears defense held the Lakers scoreless in the final 19 minutes. Kutztown battled and made Mercyhurst (7-1, 3-1) earn the victory. Rome wasn't built in a day and the Golden Bears are still a work in progress. They are heading in the right direction with each performance. Mercyhurst scored 20 times in last year's meeting. The Lakers found the net twice after intermission.
"I think we are definitely getting better," Bushong said. "We are still encouraged. It's still nice to have a winning record and our confidence is still up. I also don't think teams are taking us as lightly as they did in the past, which is a good thing."
In the second half, Kutztown applied plenty of pressure as it outshot Mercyhurst, 10-7. The Golden Bears had more draw controls and they caused six turnovers. There were plenty of positives for Kutztown to build from as it heads into the rest of its league schedule.
Kutztown finishes its arduous weekend by hosting ninth-ranked Gannon University at 1 p.m. Fortunately, the Golden Bears will be well prepared for the elements because the weather is expected to be a carbon copy of Friday.
"I could not feel my fingers," Mehaffey said. "The cold definitely slows the game down. It makes the game seem longer and it makes you want to play that much harder so you can get off the field. Mercyhurst is a really good team, but you can definitely see progression on our part especially in the second half today. This is good to see because it makes it feel like our hard work is paying off."
NOTES: Saturday's game will be the annual LAX-4-LIFE Inc. contest. Game time will be 1 p.m. at Keystone Field. The teams will take a picture together at halftime.LAX-4-LIFE is a national lacrosse campaign to provide and support programs geared toward adolescent and young adult suicide prevention awareness. Lax-4-Life was started in spring 2009 by members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) after teams were confronted with the prospect of life after suicide. When resources were not available they asked "What can we do?" Lax-4-Life was the answer.
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