KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Down its top goal-scorer in a back-and-forth battle, 12th-ranked Kutztown got fourth-quarter goals from
Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western) and
Madison Wenner (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City) to fend off 11th-ranked East Stroudsburg, 10-8, in the PSAC quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon at a raucous Keystone Field.
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills), who has already established the program's new single-season goal record, added to her total with five more to reach the 70-goal plateau before she was sent off with her second yellow card on a dangerous propel with 7:33 left in the third quarter.
East Stroudsburg (12-6) trailed 8-5 at that point but potted the next three goals to even the score with 13:09 left in the fourth quarter.
Kutztown's composure never faltered, however. The Bears went back in front on a goal by Yocum with 10:41 to play and had to overcome multiple bouts of adversity down the stretch.
The Golden Bears locked it down defensively in the fourth.
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional) forced a pair of turnovers from Emily Miarotonda, one of the top scorers in Division II, while
Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and
Robin Spector (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) also caused fourth-quarter giveaways by the Warriors.
Mitarotonda, who recorded her 300th career goal in last Saturday's 10-9 win for ESU over the Bears in the regular season finale, hit the post on a potential game-tying shot with 4:01 remaining and Conteh forced a Hannah Schiemer turnover that put the ball back with the hosts.
After a timeout by head coach
Kristen Nicholson,
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) dropped a pass off for freshman
Madison Wenner (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City), who fired a shot by Warrior goalie Abby Simonetti to give Kutztown (14-4) a crucial two-goal cushion with 2:03 to go.
ESU misfired on a free-position attempt and Spector knocked the ball free from Jolee Roth with 1:15 left. Goalie
Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) picked up the loose ball, allowing KU to run out the clock and defeat ESU in the PSAC quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) opened the scoring for KU at the 11:49 mark of the first quarter but the Warriors responded with three straight to take a two-goal edge to the second.
Graf scored three of her five goals in the second, Lake added another and the duo combined for a pair of player-down goals as Kutztown rallied back for a 5-4 lead. East Stroudsburg got the equalizer from Courtney Reynolds (player-up) with 4:11 remaining to make it a 5-5 game at halftime.
Kutztown came out in the third fired up as Graf (two) and
Lauren Lamorte (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) combined for three goals in a two-minute, 16-second stretch that put the Bears back in front, 8-5.
The Bears swarmed ESU's attackers all afternoon, holding a 30-18 advantage in shots and forcing 16 of the Warriors' 25 turnovers.
Kutztown held Mitarotonda to two goals after she combined to score 11 in the two regular season meetings. It was just the fifth time in 18 games this season that ESU's leading scorer, with 86 goals to her credit, has been held to two or fewer.
Conteh registered game-highs of eight draw controls and five caused turnovers, while Davis totaled four caused turnovers and two ground balls. Spector was creidted with three caused turnovers and a team-high four ground balls.
Along with advancing to the PSAC semifinals for the second consecutive season, Kutztown set a new program record for wins in a season with its 14th, surpassing 13 wins in 1982 and 2023.
The Golden Bears will face host Seton Hill, the PSAC West's top seed, Friday at 1 p.m., in a rematch of last year's PSAC semifinal at West Chester. The Griffins edged KU, 9-7, in that game. East top seed West Chester will face West No. 2 Slippery Rock in the other semifinal at 4 p.m.
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