KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Jillian Buchman (Drums, Pa./Hazleton) dribbled down field past a slew of defenders and sent in a cross that found leading scorer, Erin Gonzalez's (East Earl, Pa./Garden Spot) stick, and the sophomore sent home the game-winning goal, 2:06 into the third quarter to send third-seeded Kutztown to a 1-0 win over sixth-seeded IUP Tuesday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterfinal round game at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
The Golden Bears (16-2 overall) advance to the PSAC semifinal round and will take on the second seed, Shippensburg, on Friday, Nov. 3, at 2:30 p.m. It is the first postseason victory for the Maroon and Gold since 2019 and are back in the semifinals for the second straight year.
 
The teams were scoreless in the first half as it was mostly possession of the ball in-between each third of the field. KU had four shots to IUP's one, two of which were on cage. There was just one penalty corner the first 30 minutes and it was awarded to the Maroon and Gold.
 
In the third quarter after, after the Crimson Hawks' (8-8) first corner of the contest was cleared away by the Golden Bear defense, Buchman dribbled down field and cleanly slotted a pass in front of cage to meet the stick of Gonzalez for the game's first goal. It was the sophomore's team-leading eighth goal of the season.
 
With 2:48 left to play, IUP pulled their goalie and was two field players up thanks to a green card to Kutztown. But KU was able to run out the clock and thwart any Crimson Hawk offensive chances.
 
KU finished with a 6-3 advantage in shots and 5-1 edge in corners. Mia Kepler (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) made two saves in cage.
 
The game between Kutztown and Shippensburg is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Friday, from Whitenight Field. The top seed, East Stroudsburg, plays Mansfield in the first game at 12 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship game on Sunday.

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