KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Fresh off its second win over defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champion East Stroudsburg in as many games, the 23rd-ranked Kutztown University women's lacrosse team will look to keep writing new history when it faces off against 22nd-ranked Seton Hill, Friday at 4 p.m., in the PSAC semifinals hosted by West Chester University.
The Golden Bears overcame a 6-1 deficit on their home field, Tuesday, to eliminate East Stroudsburg with a 12-9 victory. Kutztown is making its first PSAC Championship tournament appearance in the conference tournament era and is aiming for the right to play for a PSAC title for the first time since 1984.
A balanced effort on offense, tremendous defense and some unexpected heroics from freshman goalie
Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) were the recipe for success against the Warriors. Kutztown got three points apiece from
Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) (three goals),
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) (two goals, assist),
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) (three assists),
Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) (two goals, assist) and
Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) (two goals, assist).
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional) caused five ESU turnovers,
Brooke-Lynn Grim (Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford) picked up a team-high five ground balls and Bragg stopped three shots in just over 38 minutes.
Kutztown, which tied a school record for wins in a season with its 13th (13-4), defeated East Stroudsburg for the second time in four days after winning just once in 20 prior games since the program's reintroduction as a varsity sport in 2008.
Already in a solid spot to make the NCAA Division II Championship tournament for the first time as the third ranked team in the Atlantic Region, Kutztown only bolstered its position with Tuesday's quarterfinal victory.
The attention now, however, is squarely on the Griffins of Seton Hill and earning a chance to play for the PSAC championship. It will be another tall task for the Maroon and Gold, who haven't beaten Seton Hill in six straight meetings going back to 2008. The Griffins earned the PSAC Western Division's No. 1 seed and a quarterfinal round bye with a perfect 12-0 league record in the regular season.
This iteration of Golden Bears and Griffins haven't seen each other, though, with the schools having last met in 2019.
ElBouazzaoui picked up her 50th goal of the season in Tuesday's win over ESU, while Graf is sitting on 49. Meakim leads the PSAC and is among the national front-runners in assists with 58. The trio were named All-PSAC East First Team, Wednesday, along with defender
Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown). Lake, a Second Team pick, is one goal shy of her first 40-goal campaign. KU was also represented on the Second Team by defender
Robin Spector (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional).
Seton Hill can get the job done at both ends of the field. The Griffins boast Division II's ninth-best scoring defense, yielding just 8.18 goals per game. They're also 24th in scoring offense at 14.41 goals per game and 17th in scoring margin at 6.24. In each of those categories Seton Hill ranks second to only West Chester among PSAC schools.
The Griffins' strength starts from the goal out, where backstop Kyleigh Hessian owns the eighth-best goals against average in the country (8.53), along with the 11th best save percentage (49.2%) and 130 saves. Offensively, SHU is led by Skylar Orlowski's 40 goals and 63 points. Piper Conlan has 32 goals and Mila Udovicic paces the team with 30 assists while ranking second in points with 47. Megan Bunker a two-way threat in the midfield has 127 draw controls, 40 caused turnovers and 26 goals.
East No. 1 seed West Chester is matched up with West No. 3 seed Mercyhurst in the other semifinal at 1 p.m., Friday. The West Chester/Mercyhurst and Kutztown/Seton Hill winners will meet in the championship game Sunday, May 7, at noon.
Tickets for the semifinals and championship can only be purchased via TicketLeap
HERE. This is a cashless event and all sales are final. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students (K-12) and free for students from PSAC member institutions with valid ID. One ticket grants admission to both semfinal games on Friday.
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All games this weekend will have live video and live stats provided courtesy of West Chester.
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