LANCASTER, Pa. – The magical and historic 2019 campaign for the fourth-ranked Kutztown University field hockey team came to an end one win shy of the season's final game. Two first half goals gave top-ranked West Chester University a 2-0 victory over fifth-seeded KU Friday afternoon in an NCAA Division II National Semifinal at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium on the campus of Millersville University.
The Golden Bears (15-6 overall) qualified for their first Division II national semifinal since 1982. They played in the NCAA championship game in 1997 and has never won a national championship. The Maroon and Gold won just their second NCAA postseason game in program history, first since 1988. They also won 15 games this season, the most by a KU team in a single-season since 2007.
Head coach
Marci Scheuing and her staff have a lot of positive things to reflect on as they see eight seniors graduate, and also a lot to look forward to, with the underclassmen having experienced field hockey at the biggest stage.
"We can use this as a building block for our future teams here," said Scheuing. "We are so proud that we were able to play on this stage, but it's not just that we're just happy to be here. These seniors laid the groundwork for our underclassmen to continue on in their careers. We were so fortunate with this senior class and we will miss them."
The eight seniors include
Molly Bobjak (New Castle, Del./Padua Academy),
Mackenzie Fuhrman (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township),
Kerri Hanshaw (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley),
Gabby Hess (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal),
Rose Moore (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville),
Hannah Shirk (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg),
Hadley Wiktor (Danville, Pa./Danville) and
Kyra Wozniak (Plains, Pa./James M. Coughlin). This group has been a part of four straight seasons posting .500 or better records, totaling 50 victories. This senior class helped KU qualify for the PSAC tournament last season for the first time since 2015. They also have 13 wins against nationally-ranked opponents during their careers.
On Friday, the Golden Rams (19-1 overall) scored both of their goals on penalty corners that took deflections off shots towards KU's cage, the first coming in the 15th-minute of the first quarter and the second at the 22nd-minute during the second quarter. West Chester outshot Kutztown 12-2 overall and 6-1 on goal, and also held an 8-2 advantage in penalty corners.
Hanshaw finished with four saves.
