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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team had five different players find the back of the net, but a slow first half doomed KU in its 14-5 defeat at the hands of No. 12 West Chester University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game Thursday night at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
The Golden Bears (5-5 overall, 2-3) had a tough time finding the net in the first half, scoring just twice, its lowest total in a half this season. The Golden Rams (10-0, 5-0) used a combination of Julianne Clemens and Nicole Martins, who combined for 12 saves, while each playing a half.
 
West Chester opened up the game netting the first five goals. Amanda Lehman (York, Pa./West York Area) broke that run with her first goal of the season, and first since her freshman year. Senior Sarah Gabriele (Felton, Pa./York Catholic) then stopped a three-goal spurt by the Golden Rams with her team-leading 28th goal on the year with just 0:45 left to halftime. Gabriele is sixth in the PSAC in points with 44 (28 goals, 16 assists).
 
Lauren Schmidt (Hanover, Pa./South Western) scored 2:35 into the second half as Kutztown looked to gain some momentum with consecutive goals for the first time during the game, trailing just 8-3 with 27:25 to go. But West Chester tacked on two straight and never trailed by less than six goals the rest of the way.
 
Emily Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert Catholic) and Makayla Bowman (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) added second half goals for the Maroon and Gold. Freshman goalie Haley Kline (Reading, Pa./Wilson West Lawn) finished with a season-high 14 saves, and did her best to keep KU in striking distance for a majority of the contest.
 
West Chester entered Thursday allowing a PSAC-low 62 goals on the season, and held KU to its lowest total this season. WCU was also fourth in goals per game at 15.20, one shy of hitting its mark Thursday.
 
Kutztown will look to rebound from its first loss in three games, when it hosts Edinboro University on Saturday, April 7 at 1 p.m. from Andre Reed Stadium. It will be the third game in five days for KU.