Live Stats KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team returns home to Keystone Field at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, for a competitive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup against ninth-ranked West Chester University.
Both Kutztown (5-2, 1-2 PSAC) and West Chester (5-1, 1-1) are searching for a win to move up in the PSAC standings. The two teams have defeated similar opponents in the early part of the season. Both KU and West Chester took down Chestnut Hill and Holy Family in non-conference matchups.
Kutztown has dropped its last two games after starting the season with an impressive 5-0 record. The team is showing tremendous improvement from the last few seasons and already has as many wins this season as the last two seasons combined.
The Golden Bears have three players ranked in the top-six in the PSAC in groundballs. Freshman
Reilly Donovan (Bel Air, Md./Patterson Mill) leads the pack of Golden Bears with 22 groundballs, ranking third in the PSAC, while
Madison Carlucci (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) and
Lauren Huggins (Media, Pa./Penncrest) are fifth and sixth, respectively.
Sophomore
Sarah Gabriele (Felton, Pa./York Catholic) leads the PSAC in shots per game at 8.86 and is sixth in goals per game with 3.0. Huggins leads KU with 10 assists.
Defensively, junior
Courtney O'Neill (Stratford, N.J./Sterling) is tied for the PSAC lead with 2.29 caused turnovers per game. The defensive unit for KU has completed 74 out of 100 clears.
Kutztown is fourth in the PSAC in save percentage at .495.
Jen Bergey (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) and
Abby Cox (York, Pa./West York) have shared time in the cage for the Golden Bears. Cox has a save percentage of .523 and has recorded 23 saves. Bergey has spent 27 more minutes in cage than Cox and has tallied 29 saves.
West Chester is back with a vengeance after a loss in double overtime to Mercyhurst this weekend. It has been impressive on offense this season, leading the PSAC with averages of 18 goals, 10.67 assists and 28 shots on goal per game. The Golden Rams lead the conference in points per game by a wide margin with 28.67.
Ashley Pyle of West Chester leads the PSAC in points per game with 5.83. The team has recorded 168 shots compared to just 66 for its opponents. Emily McAleer, Sarah Gebre and Paige Mitros have been impressive in the groundball department with each recording over 10 this season.
West Chester has won 96 draw controls compared to 62 for its opponents. Kutztown will have to execute gaining possession from the start. The Golden Bears and Golden Rams have fiery offenses with strong attackers. Both teams will need to focus on shot accuracy to outplay their opponent and win the game.
After facing West Chester, Kutztown will travel to Erie to play Mercyhurst on Saturday, March 26, at 11 a.m. in a PSAC matchup.
