By Steve Maugeri
When the Kutztown University field hockey team took to the field last weekend, they had one goal on their minds: let our seniors go out with a win. Unfortunately, they were unable to accomplish that task. KU fell to the Warriors of East Stroudsburg by a final score of 3-2 in heartbreaking fashion as they allowed a goal in the final minute to break the tie.
Erin Reynolds shined luminously on senior day. The senior was the epicenter of the team’s offense as she accounted for both KU goals. The Golden Bears struck first as Reynolds scored her first goal in the 14th minute off of a great find by Anna Behm and Jess Stroehcker. East Stroudsburg’s Brielle Kessel knotted the game up with a goal in the 22nd minute to make the score even at one apiece.
Neither team yielded until the 43rd minute in the 2nd half when the Golden bears broke the dry spell with Reynolds’ second goal of the game, once again assisted by Behm. ESU would answer by breaking out its most potent offensive weapon. PSAC goals leader Ally Roth ripped one past the net in the 49th minute. The Warriors would then break the tie with under a minute to play when Emily Howell scored off of a cross in the middle from Brielle Kessel.
KU was outshot by ESU 26-17, but goalkeeper Rachel Sanders was not fazed by it at all. The sophomore held her ground and sent back 11 shots sent her way. It was a tough way for the seniors to go out, but head coach Marcy Scheuing was proud of her unit.
“I think our team left it all out on the field today; they truly battled until the very end of the game,” Scheuing said. “We could have done some things different to avoid this outcome, but really, they gave it all they had.”
The first year head coach led the Golden Bears to a 7-10 record this season, which is a two win improvement from last year. Scheuing may be losing three excellent seniors in Erin Reynolds, Jamie Koening and Elly Skinner, but she has a very talented group of underclassmen and a strong recruiting class. The season may have come to an abrupt ending despite a strong start, but Scheuing has set high expectations heading into her second year as head coach.