EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's soccer team took a tough beating at the hands of the East Stroudsburg Warriors in a 3-0 defeat at Gregory-Douds Field at Eiler-Martin Stadium in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division meeting on Wednesday evening.

The Golden Bears (9-3-6, 7-3-6 PSAC East) kept themselves within arms reach at halftime, only conceding one goal to the Warriors (7-3-7, 5-3-7 PSAC East) in the first 45 minutes. East Stroudsburg continued to hold Kutztown scoreless despite several threats from the Maroon and Gold early in the second half, and a pair of goals in the middle of the latter period secured the victory for the home team.

The aggressive Warriors opened the game with a Natalie Schooley strike in the first ten minutes, while midfielder Rebecca Kotula converted both of her second-half shots. East Stroudsburg was aggressive all over the field, leading the game in fouls (10-3) and being on the end of both offsides calls flagged in the game.

Kutztown's on-target shots came from forwards Caroline McDonald (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) (2 of 2 total shots) and Corinne Morgan (Port Republic, N.J./Cedar Creek) (1-for-1), as well as midfielder Maura Day (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Abington) (2-for-4) and defender Dana Wentz (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) (1-for-1). Rookie forward Gianna Rivera (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) also took a shot attempt in her 19 minutes of play.

While Kutztown didn't appear aggressive in the final score, the box score seems to tell a different story. The Golden Bears remained close in both total shots (nine compared to ESU's 11) and attempts on frame (six to the Warriors' 7), while the teams were even in the corner department with five apiece.

Freshman keeper Cassidy Howes (Havre de Grace, Md./Havre de Grace) got tagged with all three goals, but saved four on target strikes while weathering 11 total attacks from East Stroudsburg. The rookie has appeared in 16 games (15 starts) on the season, allowing well under a goal per game while saving 72.3 percent of shots on goal.

The Golden Bears are locked into a postseason spot, as they currently sit in the third position in the PSAC East Division standings. Shepherd and West Chester hold the top two seeds in the East Division, while the West features Gannon and Indiana (Pa.) in the top two spots and Slippery Rock secured in third.

Kutztown will take a break this Saturday, watching the final conference results to see who their first round opponent will be in the PSAC Women's Soccer Championship.