By Kyle Krajewski
Sports Editor

Seniors Rita Muro, Lauren Latchford, Laura Durdon and McKenna Conselyea were honored before the game as a senior sendoff for their final regular season game at Andre Reed Stadium. The Golden Bears went on to down Mercyhurst 4-0 in a game in which the team didn’t seem to miss a beat.

This win wraps up the regular season for the Golden Bears, ending on a five-game winning streak and hoping to stay hot heading into the postseason. Finishing 14-4, 7-3 in PSAC play, KU has won its most games both overall and in PSAC play since 2007, which was the last time the Golden Bears appeared in the NCAA tournament.

The trio of Kyra Wozniak, Mackenzie Fuhrman and Rachel Dusman each scored a goal before the end of the first half, leaving KU with a hefty 3-0 lead heading into the second half of the game.

Muro scored her first goal of the season, second of her career, with less than five minutes left in the game. Finishing the game with seven shots, she was bound to find the back of the net at some point in the final regular season game of her career.

Wozniak’s single goal came off one of her team-leading eight shots, her 21st of the season, which ranks her tied for third most in a season in KU history. Dusman finished the game with her 13th goal of the season and tallied two assists to bring her season total to 12, tied for third all-time in program history. Fuhrman, who was named PSAC Co-Athlete of the week prior to this game, scored her fifth goal of the season.

Dusman and Fuhrman finish the season ranked one-two at the top of the PSAC in assists, with sophomore Leigh Roselli also coming in at fifth in the conference with her six assists.

KU’s defense played a huge part in the victory, allowing just three shots from Mercyhurst, as compared to KU’s 24 throughout the game. All three of KU’s goalies, Kerri Hanshaw, Katie Dotterweich and Grace Dow, played in the game with starter Hanshaw recording the win and now moves to 5-0 to finish the regular season.

Dusman and Fuhrman rank one-two at the top of the PSAC in assists, with Roselli also coming in at fifth in the conference.

The 5-0 win streak at the end of the season has helped the Golden Bears stay nationally-ranked. In the recent NFHCA Division II National Coaches Poll that was released on Nov. 6, KU was ranked in the sixth spot.

KU was also voted fifth in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region rankings that were released on Nov. 7. This is the second of three weekly polls and these ranks decide the qualifying teams for the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships. The entire tournament field will be announced Monday, Nov. 19.

The Golden Bears also qualified for the PSAC Tournament as the fifth seed. KU fell to fourth seed Milersville in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Nov. 13 to a score of 2-0.