GAME NOTES
How We Got Here: Trailing 1-0 entering the fourth quarter, ESU tied the game on a score from graduate student Morgan Mesenbrink before senior Olivia Breen's goal with 4:56 left in overtime completed the comeback over West Chester. The Warriors, who entered the PSAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, have advanced to the semifinals for the eighth consecutive season.
The Golden Bears earned the top seed, going 15-2 overall and 8-1 in league play despite dropping their first PSAC game of the year.
The Series: Dating back to 2015, ESU been victorious in nine of their previous 11 meetings with Kutztown, however the Golden Bears snapped their four-game losing streak earlier this season after knocking off the Warriors, 1-0, on their home turf. Friday’s game will be the third meeting between the teams in the PSAC Tournament (1982 & 2019), with the most recent coming at the 2019 championship game as the Warriors came out on top 1-0 to earn the title.
The Warriors hold the advantage in a tightly contested all-time series with a record of 30-26-2
Who to Watch: The Warriors are guided by a trio of experienced players as seniors Madison Kline, Nicole Krozser and Hanna Lewis lead the team with nine goals each. Mesenbrink has found the back of the net seven times, while seniors Lia Parker and Breen have each scored six times.
Sophomore Jady van Gils leads ESU with seven assists while Breen has six and Kline added five.
Amy Supey has been the one of the top goal keepers in the country as the junior leads the PSAC and NCAA Division II with a 0.39 goals-against average and 0.867 save percentage. The Lehman, Pa. has notched 39 saves across 921 minutes and has matched her career-high with four solo shutouts.
Today, eight players earned All-PSAC honors as Breen and Supey were chosen to the First Team while Kline, Krozser, van Gils and junior Maddy Barbush were named to the Second Team. Lewis and Parker rounded out the selections for ESU on the Third Team.
The Warriors also earned four PSAC Weekly Honors during the regular season - Sept. 6 | Olivia Breen | Defensive Athlete of the Week, Sept. 27 | Madison Kline | Athlete of the Week, Oct. 18 | Amy Supey | Defensive Athlete of the Week, Nov. 1 | Lia Parker | Athlete of the Week. Additionally, Parker was honored as the NHFCA DII Field Hockey Athlete of the Week on Nov. 2
Scouting Kutztown: It is the first time in program history that the Golden Bears received the top seed in the PSAC Tournament and enter the showdown on a 10-game win streak. However, Kutztown will have gone 12 days without stepping on the field as their last game came on Nov. 6. The Golden Bears are led by four All-PSAC selections in Rachel Dusman, Olivia Blasone, Sarah Gatehouse and Juliana Donato. Dusman paces the Golden Bears in scoring with 36 points on 14 goals and eight assists while goalkeeper Katie Dotterweich leads the PSAC with seven shutouts.
The Coaches: Sandy Miller, who led ESU to the 2015 PSAC and NCAA Division II championships, is in her 38th season at the helm of the program. Miller has totaled 474 career victories, needing 13 more to move into third all-time in Division II. Miller and the Warriors seek their third PSAC title in program history as well as their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Marci Scheuing is in her ninth season as head coach of Kutztown and was named the PSAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Bears to the 2022 regular season title.
National Rankings: On Wednesday, the Warriors jumped up one spot to No. 2 in the final 2022 NCAA Atlantic Region rankings with the top three teams advancing to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships. The Selection Show is scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m.
A Look Ahead: A trip to the PSAC Championship game is up for grabs as the winner of tomorrow’s contest faces either Millersville or Shippensburg on Sunday at noon from Andre Reed Stadium
