KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Despite carrying play for much of the second half, 12th-ranked Kutztown could not come up with the equalizer to West Chester's 66th minute goal. The Golden Rams advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 1-0 victory over the Golden Bears in the second round of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Sunday afternoon at Keystone Field.
It felt like the most unjust of endings for the Atlantic Region second-seeded Golden Bears, who outshot third-seeded West Chester 12-6 and saw a potential go-ahead goal cleared away just before it could cross the line.
Early back and forth play in the midfield started to give way to a more aggressive approach as the game wore on.
Kutztown's (15-2-5) best opportunity of the day came in the waning moments of the first half. An inauspicious ball played into the box by
Maura Day (Huntington Valley, Pa./Abington) was punched down by Golden Ram keeper Grace Keen. The ensuing loose ball wound up at the feet of KU co-leading scorer
Caroline McDonald (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East), who sent a quick shot towards the lower left corner of the goal, only to have West Chester's Carley Slavin clear it off the line in the nick of time.
With both teams still in search of the icebreaker,
Isabella Rossetti (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) rifled a low shot to the cage in the 56th minute but Keen was up to the task to make the save.
Just over 11 minutes later, West Chester (16-3-3) struck for the game's lone goal off a corner. Victoria Pungello delivered a well-placed ball into the box that was headed down by Kaitlynn Haughey right to Alyson Cutter in front of the goal. Cutter popped it past KU keeper
Cassandra Baker (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) to put the defending Atlantic Region champions in front.
Kutztown applied plenty of pressure as the minutes ticked away but couldn't solve Keen and the WCU defense. The Bears earned five corners after the WCU goal and Keen stopped shots by
Lexy Endres (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) in the 75th minute and Rossetti in the 80th to keep the clean sheet intact.
Keen finished with four saves, withstanding the KU onslaught that included six second half corners and nine shots.
Rossetti took a game-high four shots for the Maroon and Gold, while
Katelyn Economopoulos (Grantville, Pa./Lower Dauphin) and McDonald each recorded three.
Kutztown, making its 11th NCAA appearance in the last 14 seasons, was ousted from the national tournament by the Golden Rams for the third time in as many trips. WCU got past KU in the 2021 second round in penalty kicks and topped the Bears for the Atlantic Region title last year.
The Golden Bears' 15 wins are tied for fifth most in a season in program history. Kutztown went unbeaten in the regular season for the first time ever and its .795 winning percentage is the third-highest in a season all-time behind 2021's .900 (17-1-2) and 2016's .800 (20-5-0).
