WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- A pair of third-quarter goals from third-seeded West Chester gave the hosts the breathing room they needed to hold off a fourth-quarter comeback bid from sixth-seeded Kutztown, 3-1, Tuesday afternoon in the PSAC quarterfinals at Vonnie Gros Field.

Both defenses played tremendously over the opening 30 minutes, allowing just five combined shots. Despite only attempting one of those, Kutztown (11-7), the No. 7 team in the latest NFHCA Division II national rankings, was still in position to make something happen.

After a scoreless first quarter, No. 2 West Chester (14-3) broke through just over six minutes into the second. The Golden Rams were awarded a corner and with the help of some precise ball movement, Claudia Jaszczak deflected a pass from Emma Velez into an open cage right in front.

Kutztown, which was making its third straight postseason appearance and fourth since 2015, was looking to knock off West Chester in the PSAC tournament for the second straight season. Back in 2019, it was the Golden Bears handing the Golden Rams a 3-2 overtime defeat in the semifinals --WCU's only loss on their way to the national title that season.

That task would get a lot tougher after the Rams scored twice in a span of 9:27 in the third to open up a three-goal cushion.

Just 1:16 into the second half, WCU executed another corner. Taylor Orsi stopped Valerie van Kuijck's insert and set up a blast from Dara Spavlik at the top of the circle that beat KU goalie Katie Dotterweich (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) for a 2-0 lead.

Van Kuijck made it 3-0 in the 41st minute when she worked to the left side of the circle and slapped a backhander into the right side of the cage for her 17th goal of the season, third most in the PSAC.

Jaszczak, bidding for her second goal of the afternoon, hit the right post with a shot in the early stages of the fourth.

Kutztown cut its deficit to two with 11:04 to play when a crossing pass from the right corner by Alyssa Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Cumberland Regional) slipped through bodies in front to a wide open Rachel Dusman (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) at the goal mouth. The senior from Chambersburg made an outstanding effort, diving to poke the ball across the line before a pursuing Golden Ram defender and recovering goalie Claire Nielsen could get to it.

Laura Taschner (Newark, Del./Tower Hill School) nearly made it a one-goal game three minutes later off a corner, but her shot near the left post was blocked. It would be KU's final shot of the game as West Chester tightened up defensively to preserve its lead and advance to Friday's PSAC semifinals against East Stroudsburg at Shippensburg.

The Golden Rams finished with a 10-4 shot advantage, including 6-3 in shots on goal. Both sides attempted three corners. Dotterweich made three saves for the Maroon and Gold, while Nielsen stopped a pair of shots for WCU.

Though Kutztown was ranked fifth in the initial Atlantic Region rankings last week, Tuesday's result will keep the Golden Bears from an opportunity to advance into the top three ahead of next Monday's NCAA selection show. Still, Kutztown will finish with its sixth straight double-digit win season under head coach Marci Scheuing.

Graduate students Alyssa Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Cumberland Regional) and Leigh Roselli (Romansville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan), and senior Kasey Elliott (Dover, Pa./Red Land) are set to depart the Golden Bears. The trio have been part of some of the top moments in program history, including 2019's run to the PSAC championship game and NCAA DII national semifinals. All have enjoyed on-field success, but more importantly, they've been exemplary student-athletes in the classroom and represented KU field hockey with pride and respect in the community.