KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The second-ranked Kutztown University women's soccer team used three second-half goals to defeat the Mercyhurst University Lakers, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon. This victory sets the new school-record for consecutive wins in a season at ten-in-a-row.
In a very competitive first-half, both sides had chances early, but neither team could break through in the first 25 minutes.
However, at the 28:27 mark, a bouncing ball found the feet of
Emily Zwiercan (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) off a deflection at the edge of the 18-yard box and she put KU on the board, slotting a curling right-footed shot into the upper right-hand corner for her eighth goal of the season.
Kutztown's offense continued to threaten as the first half progressed, but the score at halftime remained 1-0 despite the Golden Bears outshooting Mercyhurst 14-3 in the opening 45 minutes.
The second half got off to a rousing start for the Golden Bears as Zwiercan secured the brace with her second goal of the match, scoring 19 seconds in with a 25-yard strike into the bottom-left corner, which put KU ahead 2-0.
A flurry of shots from the Maroon and Gold between the 55
th and 60
th minute was capped by a goal from
Kate Martin (Lititz, Pa./Warwick), set up by a perfectly-weighted long-ball by
Randi Smith (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) to extend the Kutztown advantage to 3-0.
Ten minutes later, the Laker offense struck for its first goal, as Eileen Jakobi found Anja Korte on the back post with a corner kick to make the score, 3-1.
KU added an insurance goal minutes later with a corner kick of its own, using a well-placed cross from
Courtney Browning (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) which was finished off by
Hannah Oren (Wind Gap, Pa./Nazareth Area) to take a 4-1 lead.
Mercyhurst scored at the 80:07 mark to chip away at the Golden Bears' three-goal margin, bringing the Lakers within two, trailing 4-2.
A wave of substitutes from Head Coach
Erik Burstein saw out the last ten minutes of the match, with Kutztown securing the victory by a 4-2 final score.
Goalkeeper
Jenna Bracken (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional) went the distance for KU, picking up her eighth win of the season, recording two saves in 90 minutes of action. Bracken's season record remains unblemished, as she is now 8-0-0 between the pipes for the Maroon and Gold in 2017.
With her two goals this afternoon, Zwiercan extends her consecutive point-streak to nine games and leads the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with 23 points overall.
The Golden Bears improve to 10-0 overall and 8-0 in the PSAC and sit atop the table with 24 points. With the win, KU is now six points clear of second-place West Chester University and East Stroudsburg University.
Mercyhurst falls to 2-4-3 overall and 2-4-2 in PSAC play.
Kutztown returns to action on the Keystone Field pitch next Sunday, October 8 against the Clarion University Golden Eagles at 12 p.m.
