KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team showed heart and strength in a competitive match-up against seventh-ranked Lock Haven University on Thursday afternoon at Keystone Field. The Golden Bears posted a late rally to claw within one of the Bald Eagles, but ultimately fell 10-9 for Kutztown's first loss of the season.
 
Lock Haven (5-0, 1-0 PSAC) was the first on the board scoring just over a minute into the game with a shot by Hope Thomas. Rachel Engler notched a goal less than 30 seconds later for a 2-0 Lock Haven lead; but Kutztown (5-1, 1-1 PSAC) quickly answered with goals by Madison Carlucci (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) and Lauren Huggins (Media, Pa./Penncrest).
 
The half continued with goals from Lauren Schmidt (Hanover, Pa./South Western) and Emily Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert Catholic) for KU as the game remained neck-and-neck going into halftime with a 5-4 Lock Haven lead.
 
The Bald Eagles came out strong in the second half, scoring three goals before Kutztown could answer. The Golden Bears came back with another three goals, closing the game to an 8-7 match-up with 14:09 to play.
 
Lock Haven went up 10-7 with 9:22 to play, but Kutztown did not give it up. Huggins scored her 15th goal of the year with 7:17 left to trim the deficit to one, and Smith scored her second of the game with 0:57 to play. KU called timeout following the goal, but was unable to gain possession from Lock Haven.
 
Kutztown goalies Jen Bergey (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) and Abby Cox (York, Pa./West York) shared cage time, each having five goals against them. Cox saved four shots, while Bergey saved two.
 
Huggins led the Golden Bear offense with three goals, followed by Smith and Schmidt. Jess Christ (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) scored for the first time in her collegiate career.
 
Kutztown out-shot Lock Haven in both halves for a 24-16 advantage. KU also won in groundball pickups in both halves at 17-12. Lock Haven had only one more draw control possession than Kutztown (11-10).
 
Engler led the Bald Eagles with four goals, increasing her season total to 22.
 
The Golden Bears look ahead to Saturday, March 19, when they travel to Gannon University for a matchup at 1:00 p.m.