WEST CHESTER, Pa. – No. 15 Kutztown battled No. 11 West Chester down to the wire Wednesday night at Vonnie Gros Field, but a late Ram goal turned a one-score game into a 14-12 loss in the final minutes of play.
The Golden Bears (5-3, 1-2 PSAC East) and Rams (6-1, 2-0 PSAC East) traded blows from the opening draw. Kutztown had the first shot just nine seconds in, but West Chester struck first at the 41-second mark. The Bears answered quickly with back-to-back goals,
Alexis Plesic (Hanover, Pa./South Western) scoring on a lefty shot at 13:44, followed by sophomore
Isabella Montuori (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) finishing a feed from
Lauren LaMorte (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) just 43 seconds later.
West Chester tied it at 11:50 before
Maddie Wagner (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) gave Kutztown the lead at 9:06. The Rams responded with back-to-back goals to jump ahead 4-3, but Wagner notched her second with 1:47 remaining in the first to deadlock the quarter at 4-4.
West Chester outscored the Bears 9-6 over the middle two quarters, including a four-goal run in the second.
Madison Wenner (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City) tallied two goals and
Sammy Ruwet (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) added one in the second quarter, but Kutztown trailed 9-7 heading into the third. Wagner,
Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western), and Plesic each scored in the third, but the Rams extended their lead to 13-10 entering the final frame.
The Bears made their statement in the fourth, holding the Rams to just one goal while tallying two of their own to mount a comeback. Wenner completed her hat trick at 9:09, and Yocum netted her second at 7:25 to cut the deficit to one at 13-12. But the Rams answered with a crucial goal with just under four minutes remaining to push the lead back to two and seal the 14-12 victory.
Despite the loss, Kutztown matched or exceeded West Chester statistically across the board. The Golden Bears led in shots on goal (19-17), draw controls (17-10), and caused turnovers (18-14). Both teams were nearly even in turnovers (KU 16, WCU 17), ground balls (26-26), and total shots (KU 26, WCU 27). The gap came in free-position opportunities, where West Chester earned five to Kutztown's two, and saves, with the Rams recording seven while
Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) made three.
Wagner and Wenner led the Bears in multiple categories, each recording a hat trick, four draw controls, and two caused turnovers. Three other Golden Bears forced two turnovers apiece—
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional),
Micaiah Parks (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), and
Brynn Axe (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield)—while Parks and Axe led the ground ball battle with three each. LaMorte paced the team with three assists, bringing her season total to 19, just one shy of Kutztown's single-season leaderboard.
The competitive performance against the 11th-ranked team in the nation reinforces why Kutztown continues to climb the rankings. The Bears jumped from No. 17 to No. 15 in this week's IWLCA poll and also sit at No. 15 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine national poll.
The Golden Bears return home Saturday, March 21, hosting Millersville at 1 p.m. for more PSAC East conference action.
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