KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- All-American midfielder
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) tied a program single-game record with seven goals for the second time this season, propelling the 10th-ranked Kutztown University women's lacrosse team to a 16-8 PSAC East victory over Shepherd on Wednesday afternoon at Keystone Field.
The junior from Wayne, N.J., took over when her team needed it most. She scored twice in the first half as the Golden Bears (11-2, 7-1 PSAC East) built a 9-1 lead before Shepherd scored four unanswered out of the halftime break to close within 9-5 by 5:20 of the third quarter.
Graf went on to score five times over the final 17:47, including back-to-back player-down goals in the third, the last of which hit the back of the net as time expired. It was a momentum-shifting play as it allowed Kutztown to overcome its slow start to the quarter and restore its eight-goal advantage (14-8) heading to the fourth.
Graf tied a career-high with eight points on the day and set a pair of program single-game records with 16 shots and 12 shots on goal. She also registered nine draw controls and five caused turnovers.
A low-scoring first quarter didn't produce the game's first goal until almost 10 minutes in when
Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) put a shot past Rams' goalie Destiny Rockwell on a free-position attempt for her 13th of the season with 5:04 to go.
Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) and
Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) added goals in the final minute of the period to make it 3-0 KU.
The Maroon and Gold dominated the second quarter with goals from Graf (two),
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) (two) and Lake pushing the advantage to 8-0. Eilbacher answered Kelsey King's goal that got Shepherd (5-7, 3-5 PSAC East) on the board with her second of the game for a 9-1 halftime lead.
Katie Paredes and King combined for all four goals to open the third for the Rams but Lake's 35th goal of the season with 4:42 got Kutztown back on track. Graf scored three of the Bears' final four goals in the quarter and
Alexis Plesic (Hanover, Pa./South Western) had the other.
Graf's buzzer beating player-down goal was her 50th of the season, making her the first player in program history to produce two 50-goal campaigns (52 in 2023).
She also scored both fourth quarter goals for KU and ended the day eight goals shy of tying Mary Ann Botto's program single-season record of 60, set back in 1982.
Behind Graf's 16, Kutztown fired a season-high 51 shots, including a season-high 36 on goal. ElBouazzaoui also recorded double-digit shots with 10.
Eilbacher had two goals and two assists for four points, running her career point total to 99 in the process. Lake finished with a hat trick and Meakim three points (goal, two assists).
Graf,
Rowan Hall (Sloatsburg, N.Y./Suffern) and
Robin Spector (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) all chipped in a game-high five caused turnovers. KU forced 23 of Shepherd's 35 giveaways in the game. Spector also accounted for five of the Bears' 36 ground balls. Nine players had multiple ground balls overall.
Kutztown held a 15-9 advantage in draws, went 21-of-22 on clears and converted 5-of-8 free-position attempts.
Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) made four saves in goal to earn her 10th win of the season and also picked up a game-high seven ground balls.
Rockwell embodied her name in the cage for Shepherd, turning away 20 shots to do her best to keep Shepherd in the game. Paredes (four) and King (three) combined for seven of the Rams' eight goals.
Kutztown, which is now just two wins away from tying last year's program record 13 victories, will take a rare Saturday off before heading to Bloomsburg next Wednesday, April 24, for a 2 p.m. start.
Â
