WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- In each of Kutztown's two prior wins over East Stroudsburg this season, it needed to rally from an early deficit.
 
The 21st ranked Golden Bears found themselves in a similar situation during Friday's NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship First Round game at West Chester's Vonnie Gros Field, but this time the battle-tested No. 17 Warriors held their advantage for a 15-8 victory, bringing Kutztown's successful season to a close.
 
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) had three fourth-quarter goals to go over 50 on the season as Kutztown (13-6) sliced East Stroudsburg's eight-goal lead in half, but the Warriors responded with the final three tallies to move into Sunday's Atlantic Region final against top ranked and undefeated West Chester.
 
"I'm unbelievably proud of this team for getting us here," said second-year head coach Kristen Nicholson, whose Golden Bears were picked last among seven teams in the PSAC East Preseason Poll. "We wanted to prove everybody wrong and show we belonged here as one of the best teams in the country. We knew we had the talent and drive to get to this point."
 
Prove a lot of people wrong is exactly what this Kutztown squad did, achieving several firsts along the way. The Golden Bears tied a program record with 13 victories, reached the postseason for the first time in the PSAC Tournament era, defeated a nationally ranked opponent for the first time, broke into the IWLCA national rankings for the first time and qualified for the NCAA Championship tournament for the first time.
 
Kutztown received a surprising draw for its national tournament debut when Seton Hill, third in the regional rankings leading up to last Sunday's selection show, dropped to fourth despite a win over the No. 2 Golden Bears in the PSAC semifinals and a loss to No. 1 West Chester in the PSAC championship. The result was a third meeting with the defending PSAC champion and national runner-up Warriors in 13 days.
 
ESU (14-5) was determined not to let this one play out the same way the previous two had. Kiki Fitzpatrick bookended a four-goal run to open the game that lasted into the early stages of the second quarter. Lauren Hallman and Emily Mitarotonda also scored for the Warriors during the run.
 
Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western) got the Bears on the board at 11:09 of the second. Though Kutztown had to play from behind all afternoon, it charged within two, 5-3, when Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) and Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) scored consecutively at 5:18 and 2:34. Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) assisted on the Eilbacher tally, increasing her program single-season record to 59 helpers.
 
The Warriors bounced back with two goals in the final 1:41 of the first half to restore their four-goal lead at halftime, 7-3. Morgan Hurd (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) opened the third quarter with an unassisted goal just 38 seconds in, but Mitarotonda scored the final four goals of the period. When Jolee Roth scored a player-up goal less than two minutes into the fourth, ESU held its biggest lead of the day, 12-4.
 
Kutztown refused to go down without a fight. Graf potted her 50th goal of the season with 12:01 remaining and went on to complete a natural hat trick with markers at 11:38 and 9:47. Lake's second of the game capped a 4-0 run that brought the Bears back within 12-8 with 9:23 to go.
"Things needed to get done and I told coach, 'I'm just going to go for it,'" Graf said about her scoring surge following the game. "I put my head down, ran fast and worked hard to put three goals in the back of the net. I had to do it for my team."
 
A timeout allowed ESU to reset, and the Warriors clicked off the final three goals with two coming from PSAC East Freshman of the Year Hannah Schiemer and another from Hallman to provide the final seven-goal margin of victory.
 
 Fitzpatrick (three goals, two assists) and Mitarotonda (five goals) led the Warrior offense with five points each, while Schiemer collected a hat trick. Fitzpatrick was also integral on draw controls, winning six to share game-high honors with teammate Madison Bagatta.
 
Stats were nearly even across the board. Both teams took 29 shots, while saves (13-12) and turnovers (16-17) each favored ESU by one. Kutztown was a perfect 21-of-21 on clearing attempts, while the Warriors went 19-of-20. The difference was on draws, where ESU won 17 to KU's 10. The Warriors also took advantage of 10 free-position attempts, scoring on six. Kutztown was just 1-of-6 on its tries.
 
Graf and Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) finished their sophomore seasons sharing the team lead with 52 goals, also tied for third most in a season in program history. Graf set a new program standard with 110 draw controls, while Meakim established new records for assists (59) and points (82).
 
Senior Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) led the defense with four ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls against the Warriors. Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) made nine saves in 44:06, before Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) came on to stop three shots in the final 15:54. Riley DiFiore turned aside 13 Golden Bear shots in the victory for ESU, with her defense doing an outstanding job keeping Kutztown's attack to the perimeter.
 
Kutztown's 13 wins this season match a season record set only by the 1982 team, which went 13-1-1 and won the program's only PSAC championship to date. With a majority of its roster returning for 2024, Kutztown hopes this year's accomplishments serve as a springboard to becoming a mainstay in the conference and national tournament picture.
 
East Stroudsburg and West Chester will meet for the Atlantic Region title and a spot in the national semifinals Sunday, May 14, at noon.
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