KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Not even a lightning delay could slow down the Kutztown University field hockey team on Thursday night. KU dominated possession and scored six times against Mansfield University in a 6-0 win in the team's season-opener at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
The Golden Bears (1-0) utilized 25 players and were able to attack from all angles. They dribbled well in transition, off corners and through the middle on their way to KU's highest scoring output in a season-opener since 2009.
 
KU took a 2-0 lead early, and as the first half came to a close, a lightning delay sent the teams off the field for nearly 45 minutes until the brief stormed passed.
 
As one tenured KU athletics coach said, Mother Nature may have brought the lightning, but Anna Behm (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) brought the thunder. The Kutztown native opened her senior campaign with her second career hat-trick and second in a row after ending the 2014 season with three goals. She found the goal early off a strong strike from the top of the circle, and used her quickness and finesse to work well inside for her final two goals.
 
Behm has 37 career goals, moving her into a tie for sixth all-time in program history along with Jenna Gregory (2009-12).
 
The win was bittersweet for KU head coach Marci Scheuing. KU-Mansfield games are also circled on Scheuing's calendar, a Mansfield graduate, but even more so this year as her former teammate and assistant at KU, Brittany Hansrote, took the field for the first time as the head coach of Mansfield, her alma mater, on Thursday night.
 
Both Scheuing and Hansrote started in their current positions after the two program's previous coaches had retired after legendary careers at their respective schools. Betty Wesner coached at KU for 33 years before retiring in 2013, and Diane Monkiewicz completed her 17th season at the helm of the Mansfield program last year before announcing her retirement in January. Both were in attendance Thursday night.
 
Junior Courtney Ueberroth (Stevens, Pa./Cocalico) scored her first career goal Thursday night for Kutztown, as Madison Wampler (York, Pa./West York Area) and Megan Tiwold (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) also scored. Tiwold also added an assist on a transition goal to Behm in the first half.
 
Rayann Fink (Fleetwood, Pa./Fleetwood) and Julia Snyder (Red Lion, Pa./Dallastown Area) also notched assists.
 
Kutztown's ability to control the ball limited Mansfield's (0-1) ability to put together any true opportunities. KU outshot the Mountaineers, 27-1, and 22 of KU's 27 shots were on-goal.
 
The Golden Bears look to build a winning streak down south over the extended weekend. KU plays at Newberry on Sunday, Sept. 6 and at Limestone on Monday, Sept. 7.