WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's soccer team made history with its 2-0 shutout of Gannon in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Semifinals at Rockwell Field on the campus of West Chester University on Friday afternoon.
 
By matching the program record with its ninth consecutive victory, KU (17-3) set a new school record for wins in a season in what is its 34th campaign in program history.
 
Kutztown advances to its fourth PSAC Championship in eight seasons, and sixth overall, as it will look for its first title in program history on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. against three-seed and two-time defending champion East Stroudsburg, who knocked off the top-seed and No. 3 West Chester on penalty kicks in the first semifinal.
 
East Stroudsburg (14-4-2) defeated KU 1-0 behind a 21st minute goal on Oct. 5.
 
Kutztown has shutout four consecutive opponents, as well as five of its past six, and now has 11 shutouts on the year, which is tied third-most in program history. The Golden Bears have allowed just one goal in the previous 608 minutes of game action.
 
Again it was Katie Miller (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), Cassie Schmidt (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), Kristina Miller (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) and Erica Monte Carlo (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) protecting goalkeeper Jenna Bracken (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional), who actually was forced into making six saves – her second-highest total of the year. None of those attempts truly troubled the keeper though, and the one time she was beaten, the post saved her in the 54th minute.
 
Moving to 10-1 on the year, Bracken became the ninth Golden Bear goalkeeper in program history to record double-digit victories in a season. Her six shutouts moves her into fourth in the PSAC.
 
Offensively, Maddie Mohr (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown Area) picked up right where she left off in the PSAC Quarterfinal, opening the scoring in the 11th minute on just the second shot of the afternoon for what was her third goal in 44:08 of game action dating back to Tuesday's Quarterfinal.
 
Mohr blocked an attempted clearance, which ricocheted behind the backline to give the freshman a one-on-one opportunity with Gannon goalkeeper Shannon Differ. She collected the ball and calmly slotted her shot past Differ for her fourth score in three games.
 
With her tenth score of the year, Mohr became just the second Golden Bear in the previous five seasons to reach double-digit goals in a season, joining Sam Costello from 2014. She is tied for third in the PSAC in the category.
 
She is also second in the PSAC with 27 points, which include 10 in the previous three matches. The number ranks eighth in a single-season in program history.
 
In a first half that was limited in chances with a total of seven shots, Gannon (10-6-3) recorded its only two attempts within 2:15 of each other, forcing Bracken to make two stops in the 25th and 27th minutes, respectively.
 
It was Mohr who had the best scoring opportunity, as once more she found herself in a one-on-one situation with Differ only to send her shot just wide in the 35th minute. Alyssa Ryan (North Wales, Pa./Wissahickon) then forced one final save from Differ 4:50 ahead of halftime.

The action picked up significantly early in the second half, with a six total shots by the two teams in the opening eight and a half minutes. After Ka. Miller and Emily Zwiercan (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) each had attempts saved, and Bracken made two saves in a span of 55 seconds, Taylor Lewis had Gannon's most significant chance of the afternoon in the 54th minute. She cut inside from the right to dribble around multiple defenders and sent her ensuing shot past Bracken only to roll right into the post.
 
That chance seemed to wake KU up, as the Maroon and Gold controlled play for the ensuing 8+ minutes to finally find a second goal and ultimately seal the Championship berth.  
 
The stretch began with Zwiercan firing off shots in the 58th and 60th minutes, respectively, the latter of which forced a brilliant goal-line save by Differ that deflected just over the net. On the ensuing corner kick, Kr. Miller then headed an attempt right into the arms of Differ.
 
Moments later through, Differ could no longer stave off the Kutztown offensive attack. Kaylee Kupiec (Deptford, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) slotted a through ball to Alaina Curry (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) for a one-on-one situation with Differ. Although Differ was able to deny the first Curry shot, she could not control the rebound, which bounced right back to Curry for a wide open net with 28:06 remaining.
 
Scoring in her fourth straight match, the senior tied her career-high with her seventh goal, which gave her 26 for her career – tied for fifth-most in program history. Curry also tied teammate Cara Griffith (Dickson City, Pa./Scranton Prep) for ninth in the PSAC in the category.
 
Although Gannon did come back to force a Bracken save less than a minute after the goal, that would be just one of two shots in the final 28 minutes for the Golden Knights.
 
KU on the other hand had multiple opportunities to add onto its lead as Curry hit the post in the 65th minute. Ashley Engler (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) and Curry then had great chances denied 22 seconds apart from each other in the 77th minute.
 
With the second half pressure, Kutztown ended up with a 16-8 (9-6 on goal) advantage in shots for the afternoon, while also earning eight corners and limiting Gannon to just one.