KUTZTOWN, Pa. --After setting a program regular season record with 17 wins and capturing the PSAC East title, the fate bestowed upon third-ranked Kutztown in the postseason was nothing short of cruel.

The Golden Bears were knocked out of the PSAC tournament in penalty kicks by Millersville 12 days ago and on Sunday, in the second round of the NCAA Division II Championship, No. 23 West Chester outlasted KU 3-2 in the same fashion following a 1-1 draw at Keystone Field.

Facing a one-goal deficit for most of the afternoon, Kutztown's (17-1-2) season was less than four minutes from being over when senior captain Gennyka Liebenthal (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) gave the Atlantic Region No. 1 seed a new lease on life.

Liebenthal, who came on in the 72nd minute, ran unmarked into the six-yard box and banged home a cross from Brittany Arentz (Mount Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) at the goal mouth in the 87th minute to dramatically tie the game. Kayla Argen (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) also picked up an assist on one of few prime scoring opportunities for the Maroon and Gold on the afternoon.

West Chester (12-4-3), which dealt KU its only regular season loss, had the better of the possession throughout Sunday's game. They were rewarded in the 31st minute when midfielder Gabrielle White was pulled down in the box and Rebecca Margolis converted a penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.

That advantage remained deep into the second half, despite the shot and corner numbers being heavily skewed in the Golden Rams' favor. Jenna Peters nearly made it 2-0 in the 79th minute, but her shot from the left side of the 18 box rang off the upper left corner of crossbar.

Late in the first overtime WCU's Kaitlynn Haughey was tripped up in the box and the Golden Rams were awarded their second penalty kick of the afternoon. Margolis stepped up with a chance to send her team to the Sweet 16, but sent her attempt high and the entire Golden Bear team breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Kutztown was held without a shot over the two 10-minute overtime periods, while West Chester attempted just one more after it's penalty opportunity, but Cassandra Baker (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) stopped Julia Raybold's bid in the 105th minute for the last of her eight saves. The Golden Rams held a 21-7 shot advantage (9-4 on goal) and 6-3 edge in corners through regulation and overtime.

West Chester coach Betty Ann Kempf Townsley added another wrinkle for the Bears when she made the decision to replace starting keeper Kelsey Kuhn with Audrey Schweizerhof for PKs.

The move paid off immediately as Schweizerhof dove to her left to stop Isabella Rossetti's (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) attempt in the first round after Dani Cady had put the Golden Rams up 1-0.

Both teams were successful in round two, Alisea Munshower (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) converting for KU, before Baker denied Haughey in the third on a sensational effort. Arentz nailed her shot into the right corner to put the Bears back on even terms.

Kutztown had a chance to go up in the fourth after Mikaela Berg sent her try high, but Schweizerhof read the attempt off Sadie Goad's (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) right foot well and grabbed hold of it with both hands.

Peters hit her shot perfectly to the left side in the final round to give West Chester a 3-2 lead and Schweizerhof came up big again, lunging right to stone Taylor Rapel (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) and send the Golden Rams onto the third round where they will play Concord (W.Va.) for the Atlantic Region title and a spot in the national quarterfinals in two weeks time.

Kutztown's season was one for the record books, regardless of the unfortunate and premature end. At 17-1-2, the Golden Bears set a new record for regular season wins and highest overall winning percentage in a season (.900), along with establishing a new benchmark for conference victories in a season (15).