KUTZTOWN, Pa. (April 11, 2011) – The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team shared the wealth during its 17-2 non-conference victory over Chestnut Hill College Monday afternoon at Keystone Field. (BOXSCORE)
In putting the brakes on a five-game losing skid, Kutztown got three goals each from Leeann Pica (Levittown, PA/Neshaminy), Kelsey Hogan (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape), Rachel Mehaffey (Woodbury, NJ/West Deptford), and Jen Dunne (Chalfront, PA/Central Bucks South). The Golden Bears (5-7 overall) also got two goals each from Amanda Bushong (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) and Emily Savini (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy). Freshman Krystine Beodeker (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) rounded out the scoring by adding a goal.
Aside from head coach Sarah Greer and assistant coach Christina Fried, the person who also enjoyed the spectacular display of offense was sophomore defender Marisa Kalodner (Havertown, PA/Haverford). She had a front row seat of the scoring show unleashed by Kutztown after it fell behind, 1-0, in the opening minute.
Kalodner fueled a strong defensive effort that limited Chestnut Hill to one goal over the final 59 minutes. Kutztown's defense performance is even more remarkable considering that Chestnut Hill scored 27 goals in its last outing against Post University Saturday.
“It was really good that we won today,” Kalodner said. “We needed this win bad because we had been working hard as a team and we hadn't anything to show for our efforts. The whole team is happy and I am happy.”
Kalodner has had plenty of fun since she started playing lacrosse. While many of her family members played soccer and football, Kalodner turned to the sports of basketball and lacrosse to keep a smile on her face. She glides around the field with the grace of a swan and she attacks ground balls like autograph hounds at a Rhianna concert. Just to think of it, those Kalodner family reunions are probably pretty intense when it comes time to playing games.
Kutztown was all business against the Griffins. While the offense continued scoring, the Golden Bear defense that featured Randy Vite (Highland Mills, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) and Megan Schwar (Alpha, NJ/Phillipsburg) combining for 10 ground balls didn't lose focus. Kalodner led KU with three caused turnovers. Kutztown keeper JoAnn McLaughlin (Cape May, NJ/Lower Cape) was a sight to behold in net as she made 11 saves. Many of her stops were of the sensational variety.
“We had the mindset of not letting any goals in,” Kalodner said. “We were focused on grabbing every single ball. JoAnn also had a great game in goal and kept us close until we were able to find a flow. Also, I think the movement in the midfield really helped us. I love playing defense because it's just like basketball. Playing against some of our offensive players in practice has helped us get better.”
Dunne, who missed part of the preseason practice with a sore ankle, scored two of her goals in the opening 10 minutes to help the Golden Bears. Her first goal gave Kutztown a 2-1 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Dunne along with the rest of the talented Golden Bear offense consistently challenges Kalodner, Vite, Emily Solt (Bowmanstown, PA/Concord), Schwar and McLaughlin during practices. By the time the first half ended, Kutztown held an 11-1 lead.
Perhaps the best goal of the game belonged to Mehaffey. She stole a pass at midfielder and sprinted with the speed of a cheetah on a breakaway and fired a shot trailed by a comet's tail late in the first half. The Golden Bears focused on stringing passes together and working with each other in the midfield. They are 5-0 outside of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Now, the next goal is to win one of their remaining PSAC games.
“I feel like everybody has helped each other this season get better in all phases of the game,” Dunne said. “This year everybody is working hard. Ground balls and midfield transition were two areas we really concentrated on today.”
Kutztown returns to action Friday afternoon when it travels to Indiana University of Pennsylvania in a match starting at 4 p.m.
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