Live Stats KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team heads into this season's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play 4-0, marking its best program start since it was reestablished in 2008. It is one of four PSAC teams currently undefeated, and looks ahead to its first PSAC matchup at Shippensburg University, on Tuesday, March 15, beginning at 4 p.m.
Kutztown averages 13.75 goals per game while Shippensburg averages 10.75. The Golden Bears offense is paced by sophomore duo
Lauren Huggins (Media, Pa./Penncrest) and
Sarah Gabriele (Felton, Pa./York Catholic), each with more than 10 goals this season. Attackers have successfully scored on 55 out of 133 shots.
Defensively, the Golden Bears are led by
Courtney O'Neill (Stratford, N.J./Sterling), fourth in the conference for caused turnovers per game at 2.25. The team is ranked fifth nationally and leads the conference for caused turnovers with 56. Both
Reilly Donovan (Bel Air, Md./Patterson Mill) and Huggins lead the ground game with 11 groundballs each. The Golden Bears average 91 groundballs compared to their opponents total of 74.
Goalies
Jen Bergey (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) and
Abby Cox (York, Pa./West York) show equal promise in the cage. The 2016 season has featured both goalies, with shared playing times of 105:00.
Shippensburg is currently 3-1, winning its only home game thus far. The Raider offense is led by Amanda Frank with 11 goals. The ground game is held steady by Madi Newman with 13 groundballs. The team has scored 43 goals this season, five more than its opponents this year.
The last three years have been won by Shippensburg, but only by a total of five combined goals. The matchup is always close in score and heart to KU head coach
Kate Scattergood, who is a Shippensburg alum.
Overall, both teams show promise heading into PSAC play. The Golden Bears will need to focus on shot accuracy and draw controls to stay on top. The Raiders will need to execute agility and strength on defense to keep up with Kutztown's offense.
After Tuesday's PSAC opener, the team returns home against Lock Haven on Thursday, March 17, at Keystone Field with a 4 p.m. start.
