KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Senior forward
Ella Holmes (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) played the hero Saturday afternoon, scoring a late winner as the sixth-ranked Kutztown University women's soccer team (5-0-1, 4-0-0 PSAC East) topped Shippensburg (1-4-0, 1-2-0 PSAC East) 2-1 at Keystone Field.
It had looked like the Raiders were going to walk away from Keystone Field with a point after Skyler Lambert took advantage of a mistake in the Golden Bear midfield and tied the game at 1-1 in the 83rd minute. One minute later, Caroline McDonald (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) whipped a ball into the Shippensburg box that was parried away by the Raider goalkeeper right to Holmes. The Whitehall, Pa. native lofted the ball into the wide-open goal to give the Golden Bears the late winning goal.
KU had a frustrating first half offensively, outshooting the Raiders 10-1 and forcing five saves from Kendra Barlow without finding the back of the net. Seven minutes into the second half, freshman sensation Katelyn Economopoulos (Grantville, Pa./Lower Dauphin) buried a rebound for her third goal in two games. The assist went to Caroline McDonald (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East), her first of two on the day.
Despite Shippensburg scoring in the contest, it was one of only two shots from the Raiders all day, as KU had a significant 21-2 shot advantage. KU also had a large advantage in corners (12-1). Cassandra Baker (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) got the start in goal for the Golden Bears, only making one save. Barlow made six saves for Shippensburg.
The win extended KU's unbeaten run against the Raiders to 11 games dating back to 2015. Shippensburg has not won at Keystone Field since Oct. 25, 2003. The win caps off a perfect week stretch for the Golden Bears, with wins against Lock Haven, No. 12 West Chester, and now Shippensburg.
KU hits the road for the next two games, starting with a trip to East Stroudsburg on Wednesday, Sept. 20. Kick off is slated for 7 p.m. The Golden Bears are back home again on Wednesday, Sept. 27 against Bloomsburg.
