Roster | Schedule
 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – For the first time since Nov. 9, 2019, the Kutztown University women's soccer team will take to the field for an NCAA game. KU's 2021 slate is set to start under the lights Friday night in West Virginia.
 
The Golden Bears, like many other programs across the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NCAA, will be breaking in almost an entirely different team since the last time it played in 2019. Albeit with a newer roster and some inexperience across the field, head coach Erik Burstein, in his 14th season in charge, is excited for what feels like a restart with a fresh program.
 
"It is really exciting just to be back and providing a full preseason and in season experience to the players," said Burstein. "Being able to get out on the field with them every day has been amazing, and we have all really enjoyed that daily interaction. As for this season, I am excited to see how we pull together some of the things we have been working on. We are moving in a bit of a different direction tactically, and we are expanding the roles and responsibilities within the different position groups, so I am excited to see how this all comes together."
 
Kutztown finished the 2019 season 11-7 overall, winners of its last three games to close out the season. The Maroon and Gold have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons. They return a strong, experienced midfield group, including seniors Savanna Harrison (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and Gabby Kane (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford), who earned All-PSAC Second Team honors in 2019. Kayla Argen (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East), along with Harrison, is a two-year captain and started 33-of-38 games in her career. Senior Gennyka Liebenthal (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) joins Argen and Harrison as a team captain. This quartet, along with fellow seniors Brittany Arentz (Mount Wolf, Pa./Northeastern), Molly McHarg (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford), Alisea Munshower (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) and Destiny Wiatr (Runnemede, N.J./Triton Regional) will lead a team that Burstein feels is more advanced at this stage than he anticipated following a year off of playing.
 
"This group has a very good soccer IQ," Burstein said. "They are technically sound, dynamic and creative in their movement. They are very efficient with the ball, they are very focused on improving and progressing and they have been an absolute pleasure to work with. The things we have been able to do on the field with this group is very different, and in some ways, a bit more advanced than other groups we have had in the past. They all see the game in a way that will allow us to be a bit more expansive with the way we play, which is exciting."
 
The forward/midfield group will see a number of different players competing for minutes early on in the season.
 
"We will have a fairly deep rotation of player who will play through the midfield and up top this fall," said Burstein. "There will likely be a lot of interchanging between these lines as we will use different pairings and partnerships to execute some of the things we have been working on. The competition for places in this group has been excellent, but I expect and hope to utilize a large number of players in these two roles."
 
The defensive unit has lost three-of-four starters from the last time KU was on the field, but Burstein feels that he has the right mixture of experience and youth there to be successful.
 
"Our back line has been solid and is adapting well to some of the new roles and responsibilities we have given them," Burstein said. "They are going to be a very important part of our system and they have very defined responsibilities within the way we are going to be playing. The returners have been great, and the freshmen have added a lot of quality to an already experienced and talented group."
 
The most inexperienced part of the field will be in goal. The Golden Bears have three goalies on their roster, including sophomores Cassandra Baker (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and Emme Wolfel (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown), along with freshman Sarah Samadi (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Township). Neither of the trio has played in a collegiate game yet in their young careers.
 
"The goalkeepers are our least experienced position group, but they are all very good players," said Burstein. "All of our goalkeepers are excellent shot stoppers and have shown tremendous leadership and great confidence. They have had an amazing presence in goal and have consistently and effectively communicated instructions to the back line during sessions and in preseason matches. They will be ready to go and will do very well."
 
Kutztown begins its 2021 campaign with two straight road games, with the season-opener on Friday, Sept. 3, at the University of Charleston (W.V.). The home-opener at Keystone Field is set for Wednesday, Sept. 8, against Millersville at 7 p.m.