BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Junior midfielder
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) set new career-highs with nine points and six assists while going over 200 career points in fueling 10th-ranked Kutztown's offense as it outscored Bloomsburg 8-2 in the second half of Wednesday afternoon's 16-8 PSAC East victory. The win locked the Golden Bears into the PSAC Championship tournament for the second year in a row.
Graf's nine points and six assists are both tied for the second most in a game in program history. It took just 2:16 for the All-American to factor into the Golden Bears' scoring as she set up the first of five
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) goals to even the game at one.
ElBouazzaoui's marker was the first of five consecutive goals by the Maroon and Gold, who jumped out to a 6-2 lead after a quarter. Graf scored her 53rd of the season at 11:39, before
Alexis Plesic (Hanover, Pa./South Western) netted her ninth at 10:33.
Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown), a former attack turned defender, added her first goal of the season and 30th of her career just 31 seconds after Plesic and
Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) made it 5-1 with her 36th of the year to cap a run of three goals in 49 seconds for KU (12-2, 8-1 PSAC East).
ElBouazzaoui scored a player-up off a pass from
Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) with 35 seconds left in the first and completed her hat trick by finishing a Plesic pass for Kutztown's first goal of the second quarter to keep the lead at four, 7-3, with 10:37 remaining in the half.
Bloomsburg (8-6, 4-6 PSAC East), which has proven dangerous at home this season by knocking off nationally ranked East Stroudsburg and Mercy, fought back within 8-6 at the break on second-quarter goals from Madison Coyle, Reiley Knize, Maya Fuler and Amanda Stoll.
The Huskies got as close as 9-8 near the midpoint of the third after Cassidy Griffin (player-up) and Marykate Sitko answered Graf's second goal of the day but the final 22 minutes belonged to KU.
Kristen Nicholson's side adjusted and found another gear, scoring the final seven goals and sending Bloomsburg to its fourth straight loss.
Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic),
Lauren Lamorte (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) (player-up), ElBouazzaoui and Meakim found twine to push the Kutztown lead to 13-8 by the end of the third, while Lake, Eilbacher and Graf (player-up) were credited with fourth-quarter goals.
Kutztown outshot Bloomsburg 36-23, held a 34-24 edge in ground balls and won the draw control battle, 14-11.
The Huskies turned the ball over 35 times, 27 of which were caused by KU players. Conteh led the way with six draw controls, six caused turnovers and six ground balls. Graf had four draws, four ground balls and three CTOs, with
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional),
Robin Spector (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) and Meakim each chipping in three CTOs.
Graf surpassed her previous career-high of eight points in a game (twice), finishing one point shy of Lindsey Crits' single-game record of 10 against Erskine back in 2010. The Wayne, N.J. native moved into fourth on the program's career assists list and is now just five goals shy of equaling Mary Ann Botto's 42-year old single-season goals record of 60. She's also just the second player in program history to eclipse 200 career points (201), joining Sarah Gabriele, who totaled 233 between 2015-18.
ElBouazzaoui scored five goals on 10 shots, taking sole possession of third on KU's all-time goals list over hall of famer Lisa Rawa. Conteh moved into a tie for fifth in career caused turnovers with 77.
Meakim also had another big offensive afternoon with a goal and four helpers. She pushed her program assists record to 122 and is two points shy of 200 in her career heading into Saturday's Senior Day game against Millersville at Keystone Field.
Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) made eight saves for her 11th win of the season. Already the program's career leader in goalie victories, the Sparta, N.J., product moved within one win of 30 in her time at KU.
Kutztown limited Bloomsburg's chances, allowing just seven players to record a point and no player to register more than two in the contest.
The Golden Bears and Marauders will square off at noon on Saturday. Prior to the game, the program will honor seniors
Madeline Anemone (West Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell),
Kelly Askins (Galloway, N.J./Absegami), Lake, Meakim and Spector.
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