By Pat Zazzarino
After a defensive battle that yielded no points in regulation, KU’s Logan Kramer scored the single goal of the game in overtime to win the game on Saturday, Oct. 25 at Mercyhurst University. The Golden Bears’ soccer team improved their record to 12-3 overall and 11-3 within the PSAC East, while adding their ninth straight win to their streak.
The team came out firing on all cylinders – as well on the Laker’s net – with a total of 29 shots compared to the Laker’s six. The Maroon and Gold proved to be more accurate than their opponents, with 16 of those shots to be on-target, compared to just one shot from MercyHurst. In addition, the team proved to be more disciplined with acquiring only three fouls as opposed to the Laker’s nine.
The defensive effort of the Golden Bears proved to be exhausting, but the effort helped achieve victory. This is the eighth shutout game for KU this season, proving just how impenetrable the Golden Bear defense is. Freshmen goalie, Deanna Messner, proved her skill with a save to keep the Lakers off the board for the entire game.
As important as a defense is, a team simply cannot win without an equally aggressive offense. While the Golden Bears were unable to score until overtime, they certainly kept the Lakers on their heels with a flurry of shots, accurate passes and great conditioning that slowly tired the Lakers defense.
Logan Kramer proved to be the most tenacious of the KU crew with a total of eight shots, four of which were on target and the game winning shot in overtime. Sam Busillo assisted Kramer with the game-winning shot, and had both one shot and one shot on goal in the game herself. Sam Costello and Mariah Dimm also contributed. Costello had nine shots on goal (the most from KU) and four of which were on target. Dimm had two shots total.
The Golden Bears obviously want to continue their winning streak to 10 victories with a decisive game against Edinboro on Oct. 28 at KU. The game is set to kickoff at 1 p.m.