Video Replay
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Trailing 9-8 at halftime, the Kutztown University women's lacrosse team used a dominant second half, outscoring Bloomsburg University 9-1 in the final 30 minutes, to claim its second Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) victory in-a-row 17-10 on Tuesday night.
The mark of a good team is often how well it responds to adversity and the Golden Bears have certainly proved themselves in that area of late. Following a 7-2 second half outburst to secure a come-from-behind win at Gannon on Mar. 31, KU (5-4, 2-2 PSAC) erased deficits of 4-1 and 9-7 against Bloomsburg (6-3, 4-2) on its way to an important win on its home turf at Andre Reed Stadium.
Sarah Gabriele (Felton, Pa./York Catholic) continued her outstanding senior campaign, netting six goals and adding two assists for eight points on the evening, coming one shy of her career-high in both goals (7) and points (9). The York Catholic prep scored three goals during KU's 6-0 run to open the second half, which swung the momentum the Golden Bears way for the rest of the contest.
Lauren Schmidt (Hanover, Pa./South Western) also recorded a hat-trick against the Huskies, scoring three goals and adding one assist from her midfield position while collecting a team-high five ground balls and five draw controls.
Makayla Bowman (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) was excellent offensively, both in scoring and facilitating, netting two goals of her own and notching a team-high three assists. Bowman and
Amanda Lehman (York, Pa./West York Area) were also influential in the midfield as the two KU speedsters cleared the ball into the offensive end several times using their athletic ability to race past the BU midfielders.
Rounding out the goal scorers for the Maroon and Gold offense were
Emily Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert Catholic) (2),
Cyla Cafferata (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) (1),
Madison Carlucci (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) (1),
Destanee Watkins (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) (1) and
Allison McCormick (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) (1). In total, eight different Golden Bears scored in the game, the second consecutive game with at least seven different goal scorers for head coach
Jackie Stezzi.
A well-placed timeout from Stezzi with her team trailing 4-1 early on proved to be the first wake-up call that Kutztown needed. After the break in action, KU scored the next four goals to go ahead 5-4 with 14:18 remaining in the first half. Both sides then traded goals back-and-forth with a Husky goal tying it up at 7-all with 3:10 to go. Bloomsburg then seemed to snatch the momentum heading into halftime, scoring two goals to go ahead 9-7 with 24 seconds remaining in the half.
However, Kutztown quickly won the draw control and Bowman outpaced the Husky defense, streaking towards goal and firing a bounce shot past the BU goalkeeper just before the first half whistle, cutting the deficit to one with six seconds left. Bowman's goal combined with Coach Stezzi's halftime adjustments proved to be the catalyst needed to fuel the Maroon and Gold's second half dominance.
The Golden Bears' 6-0 run happened during the first 10 minutes of second half action as the offense was firing on all cylinders to open the frame. Ahead 14-9 after this surge, KU was then able to put it in cruise for the final 20 minutes, securing the 17-10 win over second-place Bloomsburg.
Haley Kline (Reading, Pa./Wilson West Lawn) earned the win, stopping seven shots in a full 60:00 of action, to move to 5-4 on the season. BU's Angela DiPasquale made 14 saves in 60:00, taking the loss which drops her record to 6-3.
The Maroon and Gold will be back in action at home on Thursday, April 5 against undefeated and No. 12 ranked West Chester University.
