KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Sophomore midfielders
Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and
Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) each contributed five goals as the Kutztown University women's lacrosse team held off a late comeback from Wilmington (Del.) in a 16-13 non-conference victory Wednesday afternoon at Keystone Field.
The Golden Bears used a five-goal run over a 10-minute, 32-second period spanning parts of the first and second quarters to go in front 7-2 and never relinquished their lead the rest of the way --though the visiting Wildcats made it interesting by closing within a goal on three occasions.
Lake opened the scoring just over a minute into the game and found the back of the net again shortly thereafter to push Kutztown's (3-1) advantage to 2-0 at the 12:14 mark.
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) added a goal and an assist, while fellow freshmen
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and
Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) had a goal apiece, lifting KU to a 5-2 lead after a quarter.
Kutztown continued to have the upper hand early in the second. Graf, who finished with four points on two goals and two assists, beat Wildcat (5-2) goalie Tori Grubowski with a shot while the Bears were shorthanded to make it 6-2 and Lake converted a free position attempt with 12 minutes left in the half for a five-goal cushion.
The Maroon and Goal still led by five, 9-4, with 9:54 to go when Meakim finished off a Graf feed, but Campbell Heller responded with a pair of goals for Wilmington to start a 4-0 run. Maddie Day drew the Wildcats within one, 9-8, with 2:01 left in the half, but Eilbacher set up
Kayla Brooks (Mountville, Pa./Hempfield) exactly a minute later for a 10-8 Kutztown lead at the break.
Despite trailing draw controls 11-9, KU outshot the Wildcats 24-14 in the first half and only committed four turnovers while successfully clearing on 6-of-7 tries.
Neither team could gain ground in the third. Lake deposited back-to-back free position shots and Meakim had a goal, but the Bears and Wildcats traded three goals apiece, sending the game to the fourth with Kutztown ahead 13-11.
Kutztown's defense and goalie
Fiona Henderson (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) stepped up down the stretch to preserve the lead.
Henderson, who came on for starter
Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) late in the first half, made three of her five stops in the final 9:26 after an Amelie Gamache goal had once again trimmed KU's lead to one, 13-12.
Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and Brooks also forced turnovers during that span, as the Bears allowed just one goal the rest of the way and picked up two insurance markers from Meakim.
Lake and Meakim each set career-highs with their five-goal outbursts. Lake was a perfect 3-for-3 on free position attempts and also collected four draw controls. ElBouazzaoui (two goals, assist) and Eilbacher (goal, assist) joined Graf, Lake and Meakim with multi-point performances.
Conteh led all players with three caused turnovers and
Lexie Jackson (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) had a pair for Kutztown, which was victorious for the second straight game. Kutztown's 10 turnovers were a season-low, while Wilmington gave it away 19 times.
Kutztown ended the game with a 39-25 shot advantage and were 16-of-18 on clears. The Golden Bears also notched 26 ground balls --one off their season-high-- buoyed by 11 in the first quarter.
Brooke-Lynn Grim (Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford) and Henderson paced KU with four apiece. Meakim, Brooks and
Robin Spector (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) collected three each.
Wilmington's Heller matched Lake and Meakim with a game-high five goals on 10 shots. Teammate Taylor Lambeth had a hat trick and four assists for seven points, surpassing 200 career points in the process.
Kutztown will begin PSAC East play on the road Saturday, traveling to Bloomsburg for a 1 p.m. start. In fact, 12 of the team's 13 remaining games will be against league opponents with the lone exception a trip to Jefferson on Friday, April 8, to make up last Sunday's contest which was postponed due to wintry weather.
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