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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The No. 18 Kutztown University women's soccer team hosts the First and Second Rounds of the Atlantic Regional in the NCAA Tournament this weekend at Keystone Field. Receiving a bye into the Second Round match on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m., the second-seeded Golden Bears will face the winner of third-seeded Charleston (WV) and sixth-seeded Edinboro, who face off on Friday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.
 
Sunday's match will be telecast on KUTV by the University's electronic media department. Fans can watch the game on Service Electric Cablevision Channel 24 and 524 (HD), Hometown Utilicom Channel 191 in Kutztown and eastern Berks Country, and Service Electric Channel 266 in the Lehigh Valley. All games are also available through KUTV's webcast.
 
Kutztown (17-4) has now earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament in six of the previous eight years and will host a Regional for the third time in program history. Currently in the midst of what is arguably its most successful season in program history, the Maroon and Gold will be looking to win just their second-ever NCAA Tournament match – the first coming in the First Round of the 2013 Tournament. A victory would also mean KU would advance to the Third Round for the first time in program history.
 
Kutztown has already set program-records for wins in a season (17), regular season victories (15) and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) wins (13).
 
KU features four All-PSAC selections on its roster in First-Teamers Katie Miller (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), Alaina Curry (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) and Maddie Mohr (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown Area), and Third-Team member Cassie Schmidt (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall).
 
Curry and Mohr are the catalysts of an offense that has scored multiple goals in seven of its last eight matches and ranks second in the PSAC with a 2.19 scoring average. Kutztown's 46 goals this season are third most in its single-season history.
 
Leading the team with 27 points and 10 goals, Mohr is second in the PSAC in points and third in goals. She currently ranks tied for eighth for points in a single-season in program history and is one score away from moving into the top-10 in goals.
 
Curry is one of the most prolific goal-scorers in KU history as she currently is tied for fourth in program history with 26 career goals. She has scored at least six goals in each of her four seasons, and her seven this year rank tied for ninth in the PSAC.
 
Other contributors to the offense include freshman Cara Griffith (Dickson City, Pa./Scranton Prep), who is tied with Curry with seven goals. Freshman Emily Zwiercan (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) is the only other Golden Bear with more than eight points as she has tallied three goals and six assists, the latter of which is tied for fourth in the PSAC. Fellow freshman Ashley Engler (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) has contributed eight points on three goals and two assists.
 
Miller and Schmidt, both seniors, anchor a defense that leads the PSAC with 11 shutouts and ranks second with a 0.67 goals against average. Prior to allowing two goals in Sunday's PSAC Championship match, Kutztown had given up just one goal in its previous 608 minutes of game action. The Maroon and Gold have allowed just 14 goals on the year, which is tied for the fewest in a single-season in program history.
 
Miller has started in all 20 of her appearances – missing just one game – and has recorded two goals, both of which were game-winners, and one assist. Schmidt has made 16 starts in 18 appearances. Those two have been joined by Olivia Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central (Temple)), Morgan Staley (Landenberg, Pa./Kennett), Kristina Miller (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), Dana Wong (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) and Erica Monte Carlo (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) throughout the majority of the season in the main rotation on defense.
 
A combination of those seven will be tasked with protecting goalkeepers Jenna Bracken (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional) and Imani Taylor (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) on Sunday. Bracken has gotten the nod in the last four matches and became the ninth Golden Bear in program history to win 10 matches in a season with a victory in the PSAC Semifinal. Currently at 10-2 on the year, the freshman's six shutouts rank fourth in the PSAC, while she is fourth with a .750 goals against average and fifth with a .839 save percentage. Taylor on the other hand has compiled a 7-2 mark with five shutouts of her own – tied for fifth in the league – and would rank in the top-three of the conference in both goals against average and save percentage were she qualified.
 
Regardless of who Kutztown plays in the Second Round on Sunday, the Golden Bears will have beaten their opponent earlier in the season. KU beat Charleston 2-1 in its home-opener on Sept. 3 and shutout then-No. 11 Edinboro 2-0 two weeks later on Sept. 17.
 
Two goals in a span of 1:25 in the 34th and 35th minutes, respectively, lifted Kutztown to the victory over Charleston. The Maroon and Gold held a 14-8 advantage in shots, and aside from a goal in the 57th minute, KU did not face a shot on net in the final 71+ minutes.
 
Runners up in the Mountain East Conference in both the regular season and conference tournament, Charleston (14-3-3) had won four matches in a row prior to falling to Notre Dame College in penalty kicks with the league title on the line last Sunday, Nov. 6. The Golden Eagles had nine members of their team receive All-MEC honors and won three of the four major awards. Ida Garberg was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while Marlee Coleman and Cassandra Forster were selected as the Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively.
 
Garberg led UC and was second in the MEC with five assists, while also adding three goals for 11 points. Many of those assists set up her teammate and fellow First-Team selection Marieke Kramer, who led the league in goals (9), points (22), game-winning goals (4) and shots per game (3.68).
 
Fellow First-Team performers Alice Broadbent and Dominque Dosky joined Coleman in anchoring the Charleston defense that protected Second-Team selection Zoe Zyta. The Golden Eagles were second in the MEC with a 0.45 goals against average as they shutout 12 opponents.
 
It was Schyler Ackerman (Mountville, Pa./Hempfield) scoring 30 seconds into the match against Edinboro on Sept. 17 and the Kutztown defense made sure that advantage held up until the Maroon and Gold added an insurance score in the 77th minute. KU outshout the Fighting Scots 21-10 on the afternoon.
 
Edinboro (13-4-1) enters this weekend having lost two of its previous three matches after most recently falling to Gannon 1-0 in overtime in the PSAC Quarterfinals on Nov. 1. The Fighting Scots finished in a tie for third in the league standings thanks to boasting a balanced attack that ranked fourth in both scoring average (1.89) and goals against average (0.72).
 
Although it did not have a First-Team All-PSAC honoree, Edinboro did boast a league-high seven total All-Conference selections.
 
Second-Teamer Ashley Mutkus and Third-Teamer Alex Brown ranked fourth and fifth in the PSAC with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Mutkus was tied for third in the conference with 10 goals, while Brown was right behind her in a tie for fifth with nine. Danielle Chatten was tied for fourth in the league with six assists despite playing in just 11 games.
 
Sarah Barskey received the nod as All-PSAC Third Team goalkeeper and is currently third in the PSAC with a .654 goals against average while also ranking tied for fifth with five shutouts.
 
Four teams that will be competing in the Atlantic Regional this weekend were included in the final NSCAA national rankings released on Tuesday, Nov. 8. In addition to No.4 West Chester and Kutztown, East Stroudsburg came in at No. 17 and Notre Dame College occupied the last spot at No. 25.

On the other side of the Atlantic Regional bracket, top-seed West Chester will host the winner of the First Round matchup between fourth-seeded Notre Dame and fifth-seeded East Stroudsburg. The Second Round winners will then advance to the Atlantic Regional Final on Thursday, Nov. 17, which will be hosted by the highest-remaining seed in the Regional. The winner of the Atlantic Regional will then play the winner of the East Regional in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the same site of the Third Round.