WEST CHESTER, PA – Valerie Van Kuijck (Denbosch, The Netherlands) scored a goal and assisted on another to lead third-seed West Chester to a 3-1 victory over visiting sixth-seed Kutztown in a quarterfinal round contest of the PSAC Tournament Tuesday afternoon at rain-soaked Vonnie Gros Field.
West Chester (14-3) advances to the conference semifinals and will face second-seeded East Stroudsburg on Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the Robb Sports Complex on the campus of Shippensburg University. Kutztown (11-7) must now wait for the NCAA Selection Show to see if its season continues in the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Tournament.
Claudia Jaszczak (Coatesville, Pa./Downingtown West) tipped a pass from
Emma Velez (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) past Kutztown goalkeeper Katie Dotterweich in the 22nd minute to put the Golden Rams on top early.
Just over one minute into the second half,
Dara Spavlik (Hockessin, Del./Conrad) blasted a shot past Dotterweich on a penalty corner to double the lead. Van Kuijck than finished off a nice individual effort with a goal in the 41st minute to seal the win.
Kutztown's Rachel Dusman tipped in a long centering pass from the near sideline in the 49th minute for Kutztown's tally. But, the three-goal deficit was too much to overcome in the fourth quarter.
Claire Nielsen (Wescosville, Pa./Emmaus) made two saves to pick up her 14th win of the season. Dotterweich made three saves in the loss. The Golden Rams' defense limited Kutztown to just four shots in the game.
