Video Highlights | Senior Day Photo Gallery

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It was a freshman that gave seniors Cassie Schmidt (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), Katie Miller (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), Katie Jaxheimer (New Cumberland, Pa./Cedar Cliff) and Alaina Curry (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) a special victory on Senior Day as Cara Griffith (Dickson City, Pa./Scranton Prep)'s goal with 2:17 remaining gave the Kutztown University women's soccer a hard-earned 3-2 win over Gannon University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest at Keystone Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the score locked at 2-2 for nearly the entire second half, all signs pointed to extra-time as both squads were unable to put together a run to push its team over the top. However, sophomore Erica Monte Carlo (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) dropped a beautiful pass into the right corner to Curry, who looked left but went right to beat her mark along the backline.
 
With great awareness and an even better touch, Curry dropped a dime to Griffith right in front of the net to allow the freshman a clean look at the frame and she sealed the deal for KU's (11-3, 9-3 PSAC) eighth win in nine matches.
 
It was Griffith's second goal of the afternoon, which moved her into the team-lead with five for the season, as she also buried an Emily Zwiercan (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) cross to tie the game at 2-2 with 6:16 to go in to the first half. 
 
As it stands, Kutztown's victory moves the team into fourth place in the PSAC standings, two points clear of fifth-place Slippery Rock and just one point behind third-place Edinboro. With the postseason drawing closer and closer, the Golden Bears will look to remain in the top-four of the standings in order to host a Quarterfinal match during the PSAC Tournament. 

The Maroon and Gold got going early on in the contest but things went south in a hurry. After freshman Ashley Engler (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) buried a goal thanks to freshman Maddie Mohr (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown Area)'s team-best fourth assist of the year 17:20 into the match, Gannon wasted no time and struck back just 2:19 later through Kelsey O'Connor.
 
O'Connor then put Gannon (7-4-2, 7-4-1), who averages the fifth most goals per game in the PSAC, on top with her second goal in the span of 2:04 at the 24:17 mark.

After Kutztown equalized late in the first through Griffith and Zwiercan, who tied Mohr with her fourth assist of the season, it was the Maroon and Gold that dictated most of the play during the second half. The Golden Bears outshot Gannon 11-5 after the break, leading to an 18-9 advantage in shots throughout the 90 minutes. KU also had an 8-1 edge in corner kicks, which was huge for setting tempo, as it was able to dictate pace with much of its possession being in Golden Knight territory.

Freshman Jenna Bracken (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional) was forced to make four saves though, stopping the final four shots she faced following the two goals as she moved to 6-1 as a starter in 2016. Gannon goalkeeper opposed Bracken with eight stops, denying several KU opportunities to keep her team in the match. 

Kutztown will be on the road this week on Wednesday, Oct. 19 as it takes on Mansfield in PSAC action. The game is slated to start at 4 p.m.