KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Four days removed from taking down the No. 1 team in the country, the eighth-ranked Kutztown University field hockey team went toe-to-toe with No. 2 East Stroudsburg University Wednesday night. KU's
Mackenzie Fuhrman (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) forced overtime with five seconds left in regulation, but the Golden Bears fell in the 93rd minute in double overtime, 2-1, in their final Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game of the season.
In a tightly-contested game, the Warriors took the lead in the 60th minute off a rebound in front of the KU goal by Kelli Shapiro. ESU held onto its one-goal lead heading into the final minute of the game.
Kutztown earned a penalty corner with 16 seconds to play.
Morgan Aldinger (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) sent the short pass to Fuhrman. Fuhrman fired a shot from the top-left corner of the circle, as the ball found its way through a heaping crowd in front of goal to rattle the board inside the far-right post to tie the game at 1-1 with five seconds remaining.
It was the latest KU goal in regulation to send a game to overtime in more than 15 years.
In overtime, both teams had phenomenal play from its goalkeepers – Kutztown's
Chardonnay Hope (New Castle, Del./William Penn) and East Stroudsburg's Halle Frisco. In the waning moments of the first 15-minute overtime, KU was awarded a penalty corner with no time remaining, and an ESU foul in the circle gave KU a penalty stroke attempt. KU's attempt rattled off the right post to send the game to double-overtime.
Nearly halfway through the period, ESU capitalized off a corner and scored in the 94th minute by Sydney McCarthy.
Hope ended with seven saves while Aldinger was also strong on the backline with a defensive save.
Kutztown falls to 10-7 this season, 5-5 in the PSAC. Notably, Six of KU's seven losses this season have come by one goal, and five of those six one-goal losses came in the last 10 minutes of play.
Kutztown looks ahead to its season-finale this Saturday, Oct. 28, against Limestone College at 11 a.m. at Andre Reed Stadium. It marks Senior Day and Homecoming for KU.
