KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's soccer team will honor six seniors on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 31, as the team takes on Slippery Rock University at 1 p.m. at Keystone Field in a pivotal game that will determine the final conference standings.
The senior class consists of
Diana Malanga (Lavallette, N.J./St. Rose),
Dana Wong (West Milford, N.J./West Milford),
Taylor Burt (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser),
Sam Busillo (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove),
Logan Kramer (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor (Arkansas State)) and
Alex Hoffman (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North). Kramer is a three-year member of the Golden Bears, while the other five seniors are in their fourth season with the team.
Kutztown (11-4-1, 11-4 PSAC) heads into its matchup with Slippery Rock vying for an opening round home game in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs next week. KU currently sits third in the PSAC with an 11-4 mark and needs to finish in the top four to clinch a home playoff game.
Kutztown clinches the number three seed with a win or tie against Slippery Rock. With a loss, KU would face Edinboro in the first round of the PSAC playoffs at a time and location to be determined. The location would be determined by Edinboro's result in its season-finale against Mansfield.
Malanga has been a team captain for Kutztown since the 2013 season. She has started in 72 of her 74 career games played and was named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete for the 2012-13 school year.
A three-time All-PSAC honoree, Malanga was also named to the 2014 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) First Team and the 2014 Daktronics All-Region Second Team.
Malanga is tied for second on the team with five goals and 11 total points this season. She is tied for sixth all-time in school history with 21 career goals and is tied for ninth with 10 assists. She is one of 10 players in KU history to accumulate over 50 career points.
A PSAC Scholar-Athlete for the 2013-14 school year, Wong was also the recipient of the 2013 Coaches Award. She has started in 11 of her 50 career games played and has one goal and one assist in her career, along with 28 total shots and 12 shots-on-goal.
Burt is a team captain this season and was the winner of the 2014 Coaches Award. She has started in 69 of her 76 career games with Kutztown and has two goals, two assists and 18 shots-on-goal in her career.
The last tri-captain, Busillo, has started in 58 of her 72 career games played. She was named to the 2014 All-PSAC First Team and to the Daktronics and NSCAA All-Atlantic Region Second Team.
Busillo is a three-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a two-time D2ADA Academic Achievement Award recipient. In her career, she has three goals and six assists.
Kramer is a PSAC Scholar-Athlete award winner and was named PSAC Athlete of the Week once last season. She has started in 23 of her 53 career games. In her career, she has seven goals, eight assists, 79 total shots and 36 shots-on-goal.
Hoffman has started in seven of her nine career games for the Golden Bears.
KU is on a three-game winning streak and looks to keep the momentum it has built heading into the PSAC Championships.
Freshman
Alyssa Ryan (North Wales, Pa./Wissahickon) is tied for second on the team with Malanga in both goals (5) and points (11). She is second on the team with 30 shots and leads the Golden Bears with 18 shots-on-goal.
Junior
Alaina Curry (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) leads Kutztown with six goals and 15 points, and is coming off a multi-goal effort against Pitt-Johnstown. She also has three assists to go along with 27 shots and 16 shots-on-goal.
Brooke May (East Berlin, Pa./Dover Area) has 11 total points, including a team-high seven assists, second most in the PSAC.
Felicia Silveira (Hampton, N.J./Voorhees) has chipped in with three goals this season.
Sophomore
Deanna Messner (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood) is third in the PSAC with a .846 save percentage and is fifth with a .890 goals-against-average. She has 55 saves and three shutouts this season.
The PSAC Tournament starts on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
