KUTZTOWN, Pa. – No. 15 Kutztown made history Saturday afternoon at Keystone Field, securing the third-most wins in a single season in program history with a doubleheader sweep of Shepherd. The Golden Bears completed their suspended game from April 1 with a dominant 17-3 victory before honoring their six seniors and rolling to a 20-3 win in the regular-season finale.
Suspended Game Resumed: Kutztown 17, Shepherd 3
The day began at noon with the completion of a game that started nearly four weeks earlier. Kutztown (12-5, 8-4 PSAC East) led 9-2 when lightning forced a suspension with 21 seconds remaining in the first half on April 1, and the Golden Bears picked up right where they left off.
Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western) reached a career milestone in the resumed contest, scoring her 100th career goal. The senior led all scorers with four goals, pushing her career total to 101.
Lauren LaMorte (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and
Madison Wenner (Marmora, N.J./Ocean City) each recorded hat tricks, while
Isabella Montuori (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) and
Maddie Wagner (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) added two goals apiece.
Sophie Engelhardt (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley),
Alexis Plesic (Hanover, Pa./South Western), and
Antonia Troilo (Laurel Springs, N.J./Sterling) rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
Defensively, the Golden Bears dominated with a season-high 29 ground balls. Senior
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional) led the way with seven ground balls and matched that total with seven caused turnovers, her third game this season with seven or more forced turnovers.
All statistics from the resumed game are officially credited to April 1, the original game date.
The victory gave Kutztown its 11th win of the season and set the stage for the afternoon's senior day celebration.
Senior Day: Kutztown 20, Shepherd 3
Following a ceremony honoring seniors
Summer Davis (Beach Haven, N.J./Southern Regional),
Sammy Ruwet (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional),
Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western),
Rowan Hall (Sloatsburg, N.Y./Suffern),
Brynn Axe (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield), and
Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central), the Golden Bears delivered a dominant performance befitting the occasion.
All six seniors made their mark. Yocum recorded a game-high seven goals, Ruwet dished out a game-high three assists, Hall collected a game-high four ground balls, Axe scored her first goal since her sophomore season, Davis controlled the draw circle with a game-high seven draw controls, and Bragg made three saves in net for a .500 save percentage.
The Bears seized control from the opening draw, scoring 15 unanswered goals to build an insurmountable lead. Yocum set the tone with four goals in a nine-goal first quarter that put the game out of reach early. Shepherd (2-14, 1-11 PSAC East) managed just three goals—one in the second quarter and two in the fourth—as Kutztown cruised to the victory.
After the explosive first quarter, the Golden Bears added six goals in the second, three in the third, and two in the fourth. Eight different scorers contributed to the balanced attack. Beyond Yocum's seven-goal performance, Engelhardt recorded a hat trick, while Ruwet, LaMorte, Wagner, and Wenner each scored two. Montuori added one, and Axe's goal provided an emotional highlight for the senior class.
Hall, Davis, and Axe each caused two turnovers, with Davis' performance pushing her career total to 158, just one shy of the program record of 159.
The statistical dominance was overwhelming. Kutztown outshot Shepherd 43-7 and recorded a season-high 34 shots on goal. The Bears controlled possession, winning 17 of 25 draw controls. The three goals allowed tied for the second-fewest this season, matching the first Shepherd game and trailing only the season-low one goal surrendered against IUP.
The wins give Kutztown 12 victories on the season, the third-most in program history. Only the 13-win seasons of 1982 and 2023, and the program-record 15 wins set in 2024 under head coach
Kristen Nicholson, stand ahead of this year's mark.
The Golden Bears now turn their attention to the postseason. Kutztown will face Seton Hill, the No. 2 seed from the PSAC West, in the PSAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, April 28, at 4 p.m. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday, May 1, with the championship game set for Sunday, May 3.
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