KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Erin Gonzalez (East Earl, Pa./Garden Spot) scored the biggest goal, to date, for No. 2 Kutztown field hockey as her tally 3:20 into overtime lifted KU over No. 3 East Stroudsburg 4-3 Tuesday night in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opener for both teams at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
Gonzalez lined up for a second straight penalty corner just minutes into the first overtime period after her team tallied two unanswered goals in the second half to send the game into extra time. The junior sent in a pass to Juliana Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Schalick), who faked a shot, took a dribble and gave it right back to Gonzalez in front of the cage, who tapped home the winner with one touch.
 
"We earned the corner and I inserted it right to Jules," said Gonzalez. "RTP is our saying. That stands for read the play. That's exactly what Jules did, she dribbled in and dished it to me and I was wide open after a beautiful pass and able to finish."
 
The Golden Bears (7-1 overall, 1-0 PSAC) and Warriors (7-2, 0-1) know each other well and have seen plenty of each other for the last two seasons, especially in the postseason. They met in the DII national championship game, with Kutztown coming out on top as 2-1 winners. They also squared off in the PSAC semifinals in 2022 with ESU winning 2-0.
 
"This is a huge win for us," Gonzalez said. "It's our first conference game against a team we saw in the national championship last year. I think this is huge for us, momentum wise, especially after that loss we had here in our last home game against Shippensburg. We're ready to finish the season strong."
 
It was the second straight game that the Maroon and Gold were taken to overtime and the second straight victory. They defeated Millersville in a non-conference game on the road last Wednesday, Sept. 25. That Jessica Traynor (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) golden goal was the biggest goal of the season then, but Gonzalez's may have just topped that in the opening conference game.
 
Kutztown took the lead after being awarded a penalty stroke just 2:36 into the contest. Marlee Fetrow (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) connected from the spot for her second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead. ESU, however, answered in flurry, recording three goals in a span of 20:04 to take a 3-1 advantage into halftime.
 
Just as it looked like the air was out of the sails of the Golden Bears, they came out of intermission ready to roll. Greenleigh McGehee (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) sent home a goal in a scrum in front of cage for her fourth of the season with 4:24 left in the third quarter.
 
Then, in the fourth quarter, with just 2:21 remaining, Gonzalez sent a pass to the top of the circle on a corner that found the stick of Sarah Gatehouse (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson), who then slammed home a shot that tied the game at 3-3. It was the graduate student defender's third goal of the season.
 
Mia Kepler (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) and Lorelai Lehenky (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) split time in cage and each finished with one save. Lehenky is credited with her first victory of the season.
 
Kutztown remains at home for its next game and will take on Indiana (Pa.) University on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 5:30 p.m., in another conference game at Andre Reed Stadium. It is also Family Day.

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