Photo Gallery
 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent Shippensburg University, 15-14, on Tuesday afternoon at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
With 1:13 left to play and down 15-13, Kutztown's Emily Leeb (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) netted a clutch goal to bring the game within one in the final minutes.
 
Kutztown seemed to have all the momentum and used it to its advantage. The Golden Bears won the ensuing draw control and quickly pushed into Shippensburg territory. In seemingly no time, the Golden Bears had scored a goal to tie the game with 10 seconds to play.
 
However, the referees waved the goal off after making the decision that they were unable to identify the scorer of the goal due to multiple players dropping their sticks immediately following the goal.
 
Notably, each time there is a goal scored in lacrosse, the scorer of the goal is required to drop their stick so the referee can inspect the net and ensure it is legal.
 
The Golden Bears put up a tremendous fight to put themselves in a position to tie the game, outscoring Shippensburg in the second half, 8-5.
 
At the beginning of the first half, the Golden Bears were down 10-6 but refused to go down easy. Shippensburg held a 15-12 advantage with 3:53 left in the contest but the Golden Bears struck back with two goals that were within 12 seconds of each other (1:25, 1:13).
 
Sarah Gabriele (Felton, Pa./York Catholic) had a phenomenal performance in her first home game of the season, as she tied her career-high with six goals, one shy of tying the school-record. She also contributed two groundballs and caused two turnovers.
 
The seven-point afternoon gives Gabriele 124 for her career, tying her for sixth in program history.
 
Leeb and Lauren Huggins (Media, Pa./Penncrest) each notched two goals apiece to add to the Golden Bear offense.
 
Emily Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert Catholic) held a game-high eight draw controls while also netting a goal of her own.
 
Courtney O'Neill (Stratford, N.J./Sterling) led the defense with team-highs in groundballs (5) and caused turnovers (5). She also picked up her 100th career draw control.
 
Collectively, the Golden Bears held a massive advantage in both shots (35-23) and draw controls (22-9).
 
Shippensburg was led by Ali Harclerode, who finished with a team-high four goals.
 
The Golden Bears will continue with conference play on the road against Lock Haven University on Thursday, March 23. The game is set to begin at 4 p.m.