KUTZTOWN, Pa. – No. 19 Kutztown women's lacrosse earned a much-needed, 14-12 victory against No. 21 Seton Hill in the home and season opener Thursday afternoon at Keystone Field, in a non-conference game.
 
The win not only propelled the Golden Bears (1-0 overall) to an unbeaten start to the regular season for the third consecutive season, but it also amassed a little bit of revenge vs. the Griffins (0-1), who defeated them in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's semifinal round last year. KU had lost the previous seven meetings between the two teams, dating back to the 2014 season and haven't won in the series since March 16, 2009.
 
There is a lot of positive momentum for the program heading into this season after a successful campaign in 2023. And Kutztown did not disappoint in front of its home crowd for the first time in 2024, holding a lead for all but 5:35 of the contest Thursday.
 
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) tied a game-high with four goals and Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) each recorded a hat trick to pace the attack. That trio plus Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western), who totaled two goals, accounted for 86% of the scoring for the Maroon and Gold. Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland), the program's all-time leader in career assists, added to her total with five more and a goal. Freshman Madison Wenner (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City) rounded out the scoring with an all-important, fourth-quarter tally, the first of her collegiate career, which came with just 1:13 to play and her team holding a slim, one-goal advantage.
 
Seton Hill got onto the scoreboard first thanks to a tally from Carleigh Sutfin, just 0:17 after the opening whistle. Sutfin, along with teammate Skylar Orlowski, finished with four goals and one assist to lead the Griffins. Graf tied the game with her team's first goal 0:49 later and then Lake gave her team their first lead of the game with 9:25 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Golden Bears netted six unanswered goals in a span of 10:13 to go on top 6-1, but Seton Hill responded by netting the period's final three goals as the score was 6-4 in favor of KU after one. ElBouazzaoui found the back of the net 1:13 into the second to push the lead to three (7-4), but the Griffins scored back-to-back goals and found themselves within just one with 11:38 left. Kutztown then scored three in-a-row before SHU added two just before halftime and the score was 10-8 at the break.
 
Meakim, Graf and ElBouazzaoui combined to net three straight to go back up by five and then Seton Hill added two straight for a 13-10 game heading into the final frame. In a low scoring quarter, the Griffins continued their run with two tallies in the first 3:58 of the fourth to cut their deficit to 13-12. There would be a span of 9:49 without a goal, as both teams had their chances, before Wenner, cutting towards net, took a pass from Meakim, and fired home a shot just as the shot clock was about to hit 0, for the game-clinching goal.
 
Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) started in net for KU and finished with five saves and a team-high four ground balls, earning the victory. Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) played the fourth and made two saves. Emily Christiansen (Ledgewood, N.J./Roxbury), along with Blesson, had three caused turnovers. Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) won four draw controls.
 
Kutztown hits the road for the first time in 2024 for its next game, next Tuesday, March 5, at Dominican (N.Y.) at 4 p.m. KU is back at Keystone Field next Saturday, March 9, against nationally-ranked Tampa at 11 a.m.

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