LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa. - Sophomore Lauren Huggins (Media, Pa./Penncrest) scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Saturday afternoon as the Kutztown University women's lacrosse team prevailed over Chestnut Hill in overtime by a final score of 11-10.
 
Kutztown has started 4-0 this season for the first time since the lacrosse team was reinstated back in 2008.
 
Kutztown raced out to an early 3-0 lead in the first half over Chestnut Hill (1-4). Sophomore Sarah Gabriele (Felton, Pa./York Catholic) scored KU's first two goals of the game. Her first was at the 20:00 mark in the first half and the second came on a free position shot with 17:02 to go in the half.
 
The Golden Bears extended their lead in the first half to 3-0 when freshman Lauren Schmidt (Hanover, Pa./South Western) connected on her first goal of the game on a pass from senior Cara Lord (Media, Pa./Penncrest).
 
Chestnut Hill finally got on the scoreboard on a goal by Julia Reinert with 4:24 to go in the opening half. KU struck right back with 3:39 left in the half on a goal by Makayla Bowman (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) to give it a 4-1 advantage.
 
The Griffins managed to score two goals in the final minutes to cut lead to 4-3 going into the second half of play.
 
Both teams came out of the intermission with two goals each in the first two minutes of the second half to push the score to 6-5 with KU leading the way. Huggins scored her first goal of the game just 15 seconds after the half began and Gabriele connected on her third goal at the 28:00 mark in the half.
 
KU and Chestnut Hill exchanged goals for most of the second half and were tied at 8-8 with under 15 minutes to play in the game. Gabriele scored her fourth and fifth goals of the game at the 21:28 and 18:00 mark, respectively.
 
Chestnut Hill took a 9-8 lead over KU on a goal by Julia Galantich at the 11:33 mark in the second half, but the Golden Bears persevered and scored the next two goals of the half. Huggins scored back-to-back goals for Kutztown in a 36-second span to give it a 10-9 lead with just over eight minutes to go.
 
Kutztown managed to hold onto its 10-9 lead until the closing seconds as Chestnut Hill's Emorie Keimig scored with a second remaining on the clock to push the game to overtime.
 
Despite allowing a last-second goal, KU managed to show great resilience in overtime as it scored just 35 seconds into the period to end the game with an 11-10 victory. Huggins connected on the game-winner for her fourth goal of the game in what proved to be a thrilling game.
 
Gabriele and Huggins scored nine of KU's 11 goals in the game. Gabriele scored a team-high five goals for KU on 11 shots. She also had a team-high five draw controls. Huggins had four goals, including the game-winner in overtime.
 
Lauren Schmidt (Hanover, Pa./South Western) and Bowman each had a goal for the Golden Bears. Lord had a team-high two assists, while Bowman and Emily Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert Catholic) each had one.

Abby Cox (York, Pa./West York) played the whole first half in goal for KU before giving way to Jen Bergey (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) for the second half and overtime period. Both goalkeepers recorded two saves in the victory. 
 
Kutztown will look to improve to 5-0 on Tuesday, March 15, at 4 p.m. as it starts out Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play with a road game at Shippensburg.