Box Score |
Highlights (YouTube)
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Junior
Jessica Woodbyrne opened the scoring late in the first half, and senior
Alex Pickett added an insurance strike in the 65th minute to lift seventh-seeded East Stroudsburg University to a 2-0 victory over No. 2 Kutztown in the PSAC quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The Warriors (13-5-1), the first four-time defending PSAC champions in league history, will play either No. 3 Millersville or No. 6 Seton Hill in Friday's semifinal, which will be held at top-seeded Bloomsburg.
ESU has now knocked off the Golden Bears (14-4-1) in four of the last five conference tournaments. Kutztown entered the contest ranked 12th in the most-recent United Soccer Coaches DII national poll.
Freshman
Mauri Jackson made seven saves in goal to secure her eighth shutout in 15 starts on the year. The Golden Bears were held off the scoreboard despite an 18-6 advantage in shots, including a 13-4 edge in the second half.
ESU was held without a shot until Pickett had an effort saved by Kutztown goalie Jenna Bracken 33:17 into the contest. Woodbyrne, though, put the Warriors in front five minutes later. Her corner kick was cleared out by the KU defense, but her shot back into the box curled straight into the top left corner to make it 1-0.
Woodbyrne's goal was her second of the season, and her sixth overall across 42 appearances for the Warriors.
All seven of Jackson's saves came after the intermission, including four during the first 15 minutes of the second half as Kutztown pushed for an equalizer.
Pickett's goal came against the run of the play with 25:24 left on the clock, as she made a run down the right side and fired a shot straight through Bracken to double the ESU advantage. Pickett upped her career postseason goal total to six, and she has a team-high 19 points (6 G, 7 A) while starting all 19 games this season.
Kutztown had a shot go off the crossbar just over a minute after the second Warrior goal, and the home side forced an additional three saves out of Jackson, but the ESU backline held firm to secure the clean sheet.
The Warriors avenged a 2-1 defeat at Kutztown during the teams' regular season meeting at KU on Oct. 17. ESU has won eight of the past 11 matchups overall against the Golden Bears.
No. 1 Bloomsburg topped Slippery Rock by a 4-1 final to earn the right to host this weekend's PSAC Final Four. The Huskies will face No. 4 West Chester in the other semifinal on Friday after the Golden Rams defeated Lock Haven 2-0.