KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's soccer team had its seven-game winning streak snapped Wednesday afternoon after a heart-breaking 2-1 loss at Slippery Rock University. The Golden Bears must now quickly bounce back as they host the first-place California (PA) Vulcans at Keystone Field in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup this Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.
 
California (PA) (10-2-1, 10-1-0 PSAC) has been dominant in conference play recently, and has not suffered a loss since Sept. 8. In this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll, the Vulcans earned the ninth spot. This is the third week in a row they have made the poll and the first time breaking the top 10.
 
California presents itself as a tough opposition to anyone, however Kutztown (8-4, 8-4) has been a solid overall unit as of late, and the consistency at defense and the recent emergence of junior forward Sam Costello (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) figures to play a key role in competing during this powerhouse matchup.
 
"Cal is an excellent team and we will need to play with a great deal of focus, have a tremendous work rate, commit to the tactical approach we will take for this game and we will need to find our quality for the entire 90 minutes if we are going to be successful," head coach Erik Burstein remarked.
 
The Golden Bears as a team have been putting up respectable numbers in the scoring column, with Costello always seeming to be involved. Costello has recorded at least one point in seven of the past eight games and was named last week's PSAC Athlete of the Week.
 
With four goals and eight assists, Costello leads the team with 16 points, good enough for a fifth place tie in the PSAC. Not only has she been scoring and creating, her offensive pressure has allowed her to fire off 48 shots, the third highest in the PSAC. Costello will need to be active on the front line as California (PA) has only let up six goals all season.
 
"There is no question Sam's development over the past three years has been tremendous," Burstein added. "She is one of the top attacking players in our conference and one of the best we have ever had."
 
Freshman forward Megan Frailer (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) is starting to find her niche in the Golden Bear offense, knotting the only KU goal in Wednesday's defeat to Slippery Rock. Frailer has scored all four of her goals on the season in the past seven games. She is second on the team with 10 points.
 
The Vulcans are atop the PSAC in scoring, averaging over three goals a game. Luckily, the Golden Bear defensive line has been strong, and goalkeeper Alina Rakiewicz (Denver, PA/Cocalico) has posted a 0.783 goals-against-average and locked down five shutouts. Freshman defender Cassie Schmidt (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) saw her first action of the season against Slippery Rock after coming off a preseason injury, with high expectations to provide a fresh look on the KU back line.
 
"During the course of the seven-game win streak we have been a bit more organized defensively and in the midfield," Burstein commented. "This defensive/midfield organization has helped us reduce the number of shots we were conceding, and in turn, we took a lot of stress off of our goalkeeper. Alina is an excellent shot stopper, and it will take a pretty good strike to beat her, but if we can reduce the number of shots she has to face in a game, we are extremely confident the number of shutouts we get will increase significantly."
 
Saturday's game is sure to be high octane, as Kutztown is currently tied for fourth in the PSAC with 24 points and will need as many conference points as possible to secure a playoff spot. The rest of the way does not ease up for Kutztown in the slightest, as its last three conference games are against Edinboro (7-3-1), Gannon (8-3-1), and Mercyhurst (5-5-1), who will all be fighting to clinch a playoff berth.
 
"This game poses some very different challenges than we have faced all season," Burstein said. "Cal is probably the most dangerous attacking team we will see all season. They have a very deep squad, they are well coached and they will be up for the game. I think all the fans and supporters coming out to Keystone Field for this one will be treated to a quality college soccer game that will be competitive and exciting to watch."
 
Kutztown looks to grab its first victory over the Vulcans since 2009, still bitter after suffering a crushing 2-1 defeat to Cal-U in 2011's PSAC Championship game.