KUTZTOWN, Pa. – A slow first-quarter start put No. 12 Kutztown women's lacrosse in an early deficit against No. 13 East Stroudsburg, leading to an 18-9 defeat on Wednesday afternoon at Keystone Field. The loss marks Kutztown's first setback in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) competition this season.
Senior
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) led the Bears (5-3 overall, 2-1 PSAC East) offensively, accounting for half of the team's total points. She tallied seven points, matching her season-high with four goals and three assists. This marked Graf's seventh game this season with at least a hat trick.
Five other Golden Bears contributed to the scoring effort.
Maddie Wagner (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township),
Lauren LaMorte (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip), and
Madison Wenner (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City) each recorded a goal, while
Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) and
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) both tallied two points, each with a goal and an assist.
East Stroudsburg (4-3, 1-1 PSAC East) struck first just 1:20 into play, adding five unanswered goals before Graf put Kutztown on the board with 4:41 left in the first quarter. The Warriors responded with three more goals to close out the period, taking an 8-1 lead.
Despite East Stroudsburg maintaining control in the second quarter and extending its lead to 13-4 at halftime, the Golden Bears responded with a strong third-quarter performance. Kutztown outscored the Warriors 5-2 in the period, firing 11 shots compared to ESU's four. The Golden Bears also dominated the draw, winning six controls to ESU's two, and successfully cleared all seven of their attempts, while the Warriors went 5-for-9. Defensively, Kutztown collected seven ground balls in the quarter, three more than East Stroudsburg.
However, the Warriors controlled the fourth quarter, holding the Golden Bears scoreless while adding three more goals to secure the final 18-9 result.
Kutztown's defense was a collective effort, with 12 different players contributing to the team's 26 ground balls.
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional) led the way with a career-high eight ground balls, tying for eighth-most in a single game in program history. She also led the team in draw controls with a season-high five and caused a team-best five turnovers.
Junior goalkeeper
Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) started in net for Kutztown, making three saves. Graduate student
Emma Taylor (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) played the final 18:17 and recorded two saves.
The Golden Bears will look to bounce back on Saturday, March 22, when they host Shippensburg for another PSAC matchup at 12:00 p.m., at Keystone Field.
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