Box Score



 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Led by Mariah Dimm (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield)'s first career hat-trick, the Kutztown University women's soccer team caught fire early and came away with a 4-1 victory over Millersville University on Wednesday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup at Keystone Field.
 
The Maroon and Gold (2-1, 2-1 PSAC) outshot the Marauders 13-7, eight of which were on goal. Kutztown got its spark from Dimm, the team's senior captain, when she scored on a free kick from about 25 yards out in the 28th minute of action. She followed up her free kick with two more scores; one in the first half (42') and another in the second half (56') that had the Golden Bears up 3-0 early in the second half.
 
Dimm's second goal came off a cross from Ally Kirkpatrick (Glen Mills, Pa./Penncrest) from 16 yards out, and her third score came quickly off gaining possession in the Millersville penalty box.
 
"Overall this is probably the best game we've played, not just this season, but in a number of years," head coach Erik Burstein said. "Our quality of play was fantastic, we were able to connect passes, and we were able to execute our game plan. This was a phenomenal performance and one of the best I've seen in my eight years at Kutztown."
 
"We played hard today, and Coach told us that he is going to hold us to that standard moving forward," Dimm said. "I had some openings up front today that allowed us to work great passes through some seams and ultimately to us scoring goals. Now it is down to us keeping our focus and starting a winning streak on Saturday."
 
The Golden Bear defense allowed only one goal in the 65th minute from Millersville striker Kelsey Mattola, who lofted a ball nearly 40 yards away from goal just under the crossbar and over the punch-attempt from the KU keeper.
 
Other than the one strike, the KU defense was extremely stout throughout. Freshman goalie Deanna Messner (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood) finished the game with four saves and looked poise in net. The entire defense was on the same page throughout the game and will look to continue being the anchors of the team.
 
Katie Jaxheimer (New Cumberland, Pa./Cedar Cliff) scored her first goal of the season in the 69th minute on an assist from Logan Kramer (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor (Arkansas State)) to give KU back its three-goal advantage. It was a testament to the team's consistent effort, despite being up two goals late in the game, showing it can play the full length of the match with a pedal-to-the-metal attitude.
 
"We always move forward one day at a time," Burstein said. "We've got to focus on each opponent and each training session to make sure we do not get too high or too low, regardless of the result. We've accomplished the goal of not going 1-3 in our first four games (2013), but now we want to push it and see if we can get a few more wins."
 
Kutztown will get a couple days of rest until it begins a three-game road trip. Up first will be the Red Raiders of Shippensburg University on Saturday, Sept. 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30pm.
 
"Shippensburg is going to be a very good game; they are going to be athletic and fast, and we have to continue to do the things that we have been working on," Burstein said. "We still have some things to work on moving forward, but overall we are going to enjoy this win, but get back at it and prepare starting tomorrow."