GAFFNEY, S.C. – No. 3 Kutztown had seen No. 1 Shippensburg twice in 2024 and both times it came out on the wrong end. But KU showed grit and never backed down from the challenge, leading from start to finish of a 4-3 victory Friday afternoon in an NCAA semifinal round game at Limestone University's Saints Field.
 
The Golden Bears' (16-5 overall) mantra since the start of the season has been 'Run it back,' recognizing their 2023 NCAA title. And they are just one win away from reaching that goal, something that head coach Marci Scheuing has been preaching to her team from the beginning of August.
 
"It was a wild game," said Scheuing. "Ship is an incredible team, and we knew we had to do a lot of different things to be able to win this one. It's hard to repeat as national champions and we knew every game was going to be a challenge with every team giving us their best shot. We had some tough losses this year and we really had to figure out who we were and who we wanted to be, but I knew with the heart and grit of this team, we could accomplish what we set out for."
 
Junior forward Erin Gonzalez (East Earl, Pa./Garden Spot) led the offense with two goals and was a spark on defense, helping contain a high-powered Raiders (19-2) attack, specifically in her prowess in penalty corners. The four goals is the most the Maroon and Gold have scored in a game against Shippensburg since Oct. 11, 2022, and the seven goals between the two teams is the most in a matchup since there were nine goals on Nov. 9, 2010.
 
"We've talked a lot about getting more of a push on offense," said Gonzalez. "We really executed that today. The push from our defense up to our midfielders really helped us forwards inside the circle get positive looks on cage. The ball was just on our sticks ready to be finished."
 
Jessica Traynor (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) and Juliana Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Schalick) each tallied a goal and both Sarah Gatehouse (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) and Grace Harrold (York, Pa./Central York) had an assist each.
 
While, of late, Kutztown had been playing from behind and chasing goals, Gonzalez and the Maroon and Gold offense wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard and starting out in front. After being award a corner, Gonzalez sent in a pass to the top of the circle to Donato, who ripped a shot on cage that was initially kicked away by Emma Albee, right onto the path of a waiting Gonzalez, who finished in front of cage for the 1-0 lead 6:07 into the contest.
 
Then, 4:34 later, the Golden Bears doubled their advantage with a goal from Traynor off a pass by Gatehouse, and KU went on top 2-0 with 4:16 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Raiders ended Kutztown's shutout bid with their first goal of the game just 1:09 into the second quarter. But Gonzalez wasted little time in giving her team another two-goal cushion as her career-best 13th goal of the season pushed the advantage to 3-1 just 4:43 after the opening Ship goal. Gonzalez, the team leader in scoring, is now tied for fourth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for goals.
 
There was a wild chain of events in the middle of the second quarter as a Raiders goal went to video review and was disallowed because it inadvertently hit off the shooter's foot. But just as they had to give the ball away, they got it right back and tallied their second goal to trail 3-2. But just as Gonzalez did a littler earlier in the frame, Donato put KU back out in front by two goals as she finished a penalty stroke for the 4-2 advantage, one that went into halftime.
 
After a scoreless third quarter, the Raiders clawed back once again with their third goal of the contest 3:31 into the fourth quarter. But, the Kutztown defense, led by goalie Mia Kepler (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) and defenders Gatehouse, Danielle Panati (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) and Marlee Fetrow (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone), were strong over the final 11:29 and kept Shippensburg out of the cage the rest of the way.
 
"We kept saying that it's really hard to beat a team three times and there is something to it," Scheuing said. "Ship is a late-game team and plays hard for all 60 minutes, so we knew that's what we had to do as well. You have to play the full time as strong as possible. We are just a gritty group and have this extra layer of something that I can't even put into words. We wanted this game so bad and they showed that today."
 
Kepler finished with four saves and Gatehouse earned a defensive save.
 
Kutztown advances to the final for the second year-in-a-row and will take on the winner of East Stroudsburg and Saint Anselm on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m.

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