MANSFIELD, Pa. — The No. 1-ranked Kutztown University field hockey team capped a dominant weekend at the Mansfield Fall Classic with its second consecutive shutout, rolling past Saint Michael's 9-0 Sunday morning to improve to 3-0 on the season.
The Golden Bears (3-0) wasted no time taking control, scoring four times in the opening quarter. Senior
Erin Gonzalez (East Earl, Pa./Garden Spot) struck first just three minutes in off a feed from
Paige Bucher (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest).
Marissa Rice (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) followed with a redirect on a penalty corner shot from
Olivia Kirkpatrick (Annville, Pa./Palmyra), before
Julia Traynor (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) buried a sharp-angle finish. Less than a minute later, freshman
Kaylee Zellers (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) set up
Taylor Vaccaro (Oley, Pa./Oley Valley) in front of the cage to push the lead to 4-0 after one.
The second quarter saw no goals for KU, but plenty of pressure. The Bears fired 14 shots in the frame, only to be denied by Purple Knights (0-2) goalkeeper Joelle Cameron, who was outstanding despite the scoreline. Cameron racked up 20 of her 45 saves in the first half alone, with her 45 total tying the NCAA Division II single-game record.
The Bears resumed scoring midway through the third.
Ellie Myers (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) opened the half with a goal just over five minutes in, and freshman
Bree Zoccolo (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) added a rebound finish to extend the margin to 6-0 heading into the fourth.
Kutztown closed out the game in style with three goals in the final quarter. Gonzalez set up Myers for her second score less than a minute in, Rice added her own second goal off an
Emma Yeager (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) assist with under seven minutes to play, and
Sierra Jester (Felton, Del./Lake Forest) finished the flurry just 30 seconds later on a feed from
Olivia Osborne (Atco, N.J./Hammonton).
Seven different Golden Bears found the back of the cage, with 12 players contributing either a goal or assist. Goalkeepers
Tess Adolf (Lawrence, N.J./Lawrence) and
Alaina Telenko (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) combined for the shutout without facing a shot, as Kutztown outshot Saint Michael's 77-0 and held a 26-0 edge in penalty corners.
The Golden Bears return home next weekend, hosting Wingate on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. at Andre Reed Stadium.
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