MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A late fourth-quarter surge lifted the No. 2 Kutztown University field hockey team past No. 7 Saint Anselm, 2-1, in a battle between two nationally ranked teams.
Saturday's contest proved to be the Golden Bears' (4-0) tightest of the season and marked its first matchup against a nationally ranked opponent. Both teams were held scoreless through the first three quarters before the offenses came alive in the fourth.
Kutztown pressured Saint Anselm (2-2) throughout the contest, finishing with 25 shots (12 on goal) and 15 penalty corners.
Junior defender
Marlee Fetrow (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) opened the scoring for the Golden Bears at 56:04, finding the back of the cage off an assist from senior
Rachel Galasso (Sweet Valley, Pa./Lake Lehman). The goal came on Kutztown's final corner of the game.
Freshman
Anna Harris (Reston, Va./South Lakes) doubled KU's lead 47 seconds later, connecting off an assist from sophomore
Bree Zoccolo (Lititz, Pa./Warwick).
Fetrow, Galasso, and Harris have each recorded at least one point in all four of Kutztown's contests this season.
Saint Anselm didn't go quietly, with Meghan Smith scoring at 57:26 to cut the deficit to one. The Hawks continued to apply pressure in the final minutes, generating three corners and attempting three shots. KU goalie
Tess Adolf (Lawrence, N.J./Lawrence) made a big save on the goal scorer, Smith, with just over 90 seconds remaining. Four of Saint Anselm's five penalty corners came in the fourth quarter.
Junior
Lorelai Lehenky (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) started in goal for the Maroon and Gold and was not required to make a save. Adolf played the second half and recorded the late fourth-quarter save. The Golden Bears held Saint Anselm without a shot on goal through the first three quarters.
Saturday's meeting was the first between the teams since the 2024 NCAA Division II national championship game, but Kutztown's first-ever apperance on Saint Anselm's home turf at Grappone Stadium.
Kutztown will travel down to Worcester, Mass., for a quick turnaround to play No. 8 Assumption on Sunday at noon.
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