KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) scored the tying and game-winning goals with less than six minutes to go and Kayla Brooks (Mountville, Pa./Hempfield) added a critical insurance goal in the final minute as the Kutztown University women's lacrosse team defeated PSAC East foe and 13th-ranked East Stroudsburg, 16-14, in its regular season finale Saturday afternoon at Keystone Field.
 
It was a banner day on several fronts for the Maroon and Gold, who had already punched their ticket to the PSAC Tournament with last Saturday's win at Millersville. Kutztown knocked off a nationally ranked opponent for the first time in program history and in doing so by two goals, earned the tiebreaker over East Stroudsburg to host a PSAC quarterfinal game against the Warriors this coming Tuesday.
 
When the two teams met on April 5, in East Stroudsburg, the Warriors prevailed in a back-and-forth game by a single goal, 10-9. With both squads having won all their remaining PSAC East games except for two each against No. 1 West Chester, Kutztown needed to win by two goals or more Saturday to claim the goal differential tiebreaker. Had Brooks not scored the late goal, quarterfinal hosting rights would have come down to a coin flip.
 
Kutztown (12-4, 9-3 PSAC East) set the tone early as Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western) scored on a free-position attempt 51 seconds in. Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) made it 2-0 with help from Morgan Hurd (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) at 11:13 of the first.
 
PSAC goals leader Emily Mitarotonda carried the Warriors (13-4, 9-3 PSAC East) on her back offensively for most of the afternoon. She scored a hat trick in the first quarter, including a buzzer beater to give ESU a 5-4 lead after 15 minutes. Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) added first-quarter goals for KU.
 
The game looked like it might be slipping away from the Bears when Miatrotonda alternated goals with teammates Lauren Hallman (player-up) and Madison Bagatta during a 4-0 run that put the visitors ahead 10-5 with 5:36 left in the half. Kutztown also lost starting defender Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional) during the run when she was assessed a second yellow card.
 
Graf and her teammates weren't going to let this one go easily, however. After scoring her second goal at 10:59 of the second, the Wayne, N.J., native completed the hat trick with 3:59 left in the half. Kutztown used the goal as a springboard to score eight in a row during a 16-minute and 37-second stretch spanning the end of the second and most of the third.
 
Lake scored her second with 3:25 to go and the Bears turned the tables on the Warriors when Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) fired a shot past ESU goalie Riley DiFiore as time expired in the first half, trimming the deficit to 10-8.
 
Rejuvenated by the late push, Kutztown came out roaring to start the third. ElBouazzaoui converted a free-position attempt at 13:43 and Graf tied it 94 seconds later. Even though KU only won one of the first four draw controls in the second half, the Warriors committed three turnovers --two unforced and one caused by Rowan Hall (Sloatsburg, N.Y./Suffern)-- to give the Golden Bears extra possessions.
 
When Hurd scored her team's third free-position goal of the game at the 11-minute mark, Kutztown was back in front for the first time since 8:27 of the first quarter, 11-10.
 
Lake scored a player-up goal at 8:15 and ElBouazzaoui did the same at 2:22 to give the Golden Bears their largest lead of the game, 13-10.
 
ESU turned to none other than Mitarotonda to stop the bleeding. The junior scored back-to-back goals --her 65th and 66th of the season-- to bring the Warriors back within a goal, 13-12, by the end of the quarter. The Warriors were dealt a blow late in the third when Bagatta, a starting attack, picked up her second yellow.
 
Jolee Roth scored to tie the game with 11:22 remaining in the fourth and assisted on Olivia Wenrich's go-ahead goal 43 seconds later. The Warriors maintained a 14-13 edge until Graf evened the score at 5:54.
 
ElBouazzaoui won the ensuing draw and put the Bears back on attack. The ball found its way to the pocket of Graf and she was fouled. The talented sophomore stepped up and beat DiFiore on a free-position try to swap the lead once more, 15-14, in favor of the home team.
 
With time rapidly ticking away, Kutztown had possession, but needed a positive outcome. There was about a 30-second difference between the possession clock and game clock as the final minute approached. Come up empty and ESU may get a final shot to tie the game. Score and the Bears are looking at a home playoff game.
 
Brooks took control out top, beat a defender and went bar down to seal the win for the Maroon and Gold with 43 seconds left. Just as important was ElBouazzaoui's ability to come up with the following draw control that allowed Kutztown to run out the clock for the biggest win since the program's return in 2008.
 
Saturday was Kutztown's second win in 21 games against the Warriors since the relaunch and snapped a 11-game losing streak to their rivals from the Poconos dating back to March 26, 2013.
 
Graf paced the Bears with five points on five goals. Lake added four points (three goals, assist), ElBouazzaoui scored three times and Meakim had a goal and two helpers for three points. Graf moved within one goal of her first 50-goal season and is tied for third among the program's single-season goal leaders. ElBouazzaoui is up to 48 on the year, good for fifth most in a season at KU.
 
Graf also registered a team-high seven draw controls, surpassing 100 for the season (103) in the process. She already holds the team's single-season record and extended it to 42 over second on that list.
 
Hall led Kutztown's defensive efforts with a career-high four caused turnovers and three ground balls. Hurd had a well-rounded game with three caused turnovers, two ground balls and two points (goal, assist).
 
Mitarotonda finished with game-highs of seven goals, 15 shots and 11 draw controls for the Warriors. DiFiore made 10 saves for ESU, while her counterpart, Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional), stopped six for KU.
 
The Golden Bears, who are likely to break into the IWLCA Top 25 for the first time next week and currently hold the No. 3 spot in the NCAA's Atlantic Region rankings, outshot ESU 32-28, committed four fewer turnovers (14-18) and won the ground ball battle, 20-15. Kutztown was 13-of-15 on clears, while ESU held an 18-14 edge in draws.

Kutztown and East Stroudsburg will battle for a spot in the PSAC semifinals back on Keystone Field Tuesday at 4 p.m.
 
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