KUTZTOWN, Pa. – A dominant second-half performance, highlighted by a shutout third quarter and a six-goal run, propelled No. 12 Kutztown to a 14-7 victory over Shippensburg in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East action on Saturday afternoon at Keystone Field.
Seven different Golden Bears contributed to Kutztown's (6-3, 3-1 PSAC East) scoring effort, led by
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills), who tallied a team-high four goals.
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) followed with three goals and two assists, totaling a team-best five points.
Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) and
Sophie Engelhardt (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) each scored twice, while
Lauren LaMorte (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) added one goal and two assists for three points.
Alexis Plesic (Hanover, Pa./South Western) and
Madison Wenner (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City) rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece.
Kutztown wasted no time getting on the board, as Engelhardt capitalized on a fast-break pass from ElBouazzaoui less than two minutes into the game. The first half featured a back-and-forth exchange of goals, with Shippensburg (5-4, 0-4 PSAC East) responding to each Kutztown tally. The Golden Bears held a narrow 3-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter and extended it to 6-4 by halftime.
After the break, Kutztown took control, shutting out Shippensburg 3-0 in the third quarter while allowing just three total shots. ElBouazzaoui struck twice in the period, and Engelhardt added her second goal of the game with 1:02 remaining, pushing the Golden Bears' lead to 9-4.
Kutztown's offensive momentum carried into the fourth quarter, where the team added three goals in the first six minutes. Shippensburg momentarily halted the run with a goal at the 7:47 mark, but the Golden Bears quickly answered with two more. Plesic found the net off an assist from ElBouazzaoui, and Wenner converted a pass from
Jayden Krause (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield), who recorded her first career point on the play. The Raiders managed two late goals in the final 1:17, but the deficit was too large to overcome, sealing a 14-7 Kutztown victory.
Defensively, the Golden Bears were disruptive across the field. Graf,
Rowan Hall (Sloatsburg, N.Y./Suffern),
Avery Hershey (Denver, Pa./Cocalico), and Wenner each collected two ground balls, while five different players secured draw controls, led by Graf with a team-high four. Additionally, Graf, Hall, Plesic, and
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional) each forced two turnovers.
With her two caused turnovers on the day, Davis now has 93 in her career, moving into third place all-time at Kutztown in career caused turnovers. She sits just behind her teammate Graf, who holds the second-place spot with 104.
Kutztown's goaltending duo of
Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and
Emma Taylor (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) delivered a strong performance, combining for eight saves. Bragg accounted for seven stops, and both finished with a save percentage of .500 or higher.
Kutztown will now turn its attention to another PSAC matchup, traveling to face No. 3 West Chester on Wednesday, March 26, at 4:00 p.m.
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