KUTZTOWN, PA. -- After downing Frostburg State and Gannon in the First and Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament last week, the Kutztown University women's soccer team has a date with rival West Chester for a chance at silverware in the Atlantic Region Final. The game will kick off at noon on Friday, Nov. 18 at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y. 

It's been a cinderella run of sorts for the Golden Bears in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. KU entered the Big Dance as the seventh seed, the lowest in the Atlantic region, and took down No. 2 Frostburg State 3-0 before battling to a win against No. 3 Gannon 1-0 on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16. It's the second time the Golden Bears have made it to the Atlantic Region final, with the other time coming in 2016 when KU made the Final Four.

"Our regular season record this past season isn't an indication of how good we are," said head coach Erik Burstein. "We had moments where we failed to stay disciplined tactically and now the quality of our team is truly starting to show while we've been able to stay tactically committed for whole games." 

In KU's victory over Frostburg State in the First Round, graduate student Kayla Argen (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) stole the show, scoring a goal and notching two assists in what ended up being a comfortable 3-0 victory for the Golden Bears. 

The Cresco, Pa. native has been a crucial part of the Golden Bear program ever since she stepped foot on campus back in 2018, but this season has arguably been her best yet. Argen usually played as a more advanced, attacking midfielder in previous seasons, but roster construction and team chemistry has forced her back into a defensive, holding role. Despite that, she's put a career-high in points (26) and assists (10).

"To put up those numbers from a more defensive position just shows the quality of player she is," Burstein said. "It just shows how selfless and how great of a leader she is." 

The Second Round game was a much tighter affair, but a moment of brilliance from Lexy Endres (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) off a free kick, along with a Gannon red card, was the difference as KU won 1-0 to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Golden Bears have caught fire at the right time, shutting out the Mountain East Conference runner-ups and the PSAC West Champions in back-to-back games. The offense, which struggled at times in the regular season, has been creating chances and finding the back of the net at an improved pace. 

"When we looked at the analytics earlier in the season we saw we were great in possession, but we lacked that sharpness in attacking sequences," Burstein said. "When we started to play wider and our players showed more intention around the box to score, more players started to get onto the scoresheet." 

KU's toughest test of the entire 2022 season will come in the Atlantic region final against an opponent they know all too well, West Chester. The Golden Rams are the first seed in the Atlantic region and were the second-ranked team in the nation in the last poll released by United Soccer Coaches. WCU hasn't lost in 2022, amassing a 20-0-1 overall record and 15-0-1 mark in conference play, while capturing the PSAC East title along with the PSAC Tournament Championship. The Golden Rams had a bye in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and beat No. 5 West Virginia State 1-0 in the Second Round to advance.

West Chester and KU have battled toward the top of the PSAC for the last couple of seasons. In 2022, WCU won both games by a 1-0 and 2-0 scoreline. The Golden Bears last beat the Golden Rams in the final game of the 2021 regular season 1-0. This will be a revenge game for the Golden Bears, not just for the 2022 regular season matches, but the Second Round defeat to West Chester in penalties in last year's NCAA Tournament. 

"West Chester is not just extremely talented, but deep," Burstein said. "They can just send waves of players which is just added firepower, there's no drop off." 

The Golden Rams come into the game with the best defense in the country. They lead the nation in goals against average (.286) and shutout percentage (.714). Goalkeeper Hayley McGee leads the nation in save percentage (.935) and shutouts (14).WCU has only allowed six goals all season, with only one coming in four postseason games so far.

As for the offensive side of the field, the Golden Rams have five players with five or more goals in 2022. Jacqueline Hug is their top goal scorer with nine goals along with six assists. Faith Matter leads the team in assists with eight and is one goal behind Hug with eight on the season. Kaitlynn Haughey and Alyson Cutter have been the other two main offensive contributors for WCU in 2022. 

Despite the tall task ahead of them, the Golden Bears are living in the moment and enjoying the ride. 

"After the regular season and PSAC Tournament ended, some of our girls thought the season and their college careers were over," Burstein said. "When our name was called on Selection Sunday, we had the goal to make the most of the opportunity and enjoy it one game at a time."

Kutztown and West Chester will kick off at noon on Friday, Nov. 18 at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y. If the Golden Bears were to advance, they would play the winner of Saint Rose and Franklin Pierce with the chance to advance to the Final Four.