West Chester at Kutztown
Game Details: October 2 I 7 p.m.
Location: Keystone Field (Kutztown, Pa.)
Series: 31-14-4
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Kutztown Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester played only once a week ago as the Golden Rams traveled to Lock Haven for a Sunday afternoon battle against the Bald Eagles. West Chester dominated the game throughout the afternoon and, thanks to two goals in the first 22 minutes by Alyson Cutter (Warrington, Pa./C.B. South), rolled to a 4-1 victory. Cutter opened the scoring just under 12 minutes in and added another goal in the 22nd minute before Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) and Brielle Zink (Islip, N.Y./Islip) chipped in goals of their own in the 61st and 67th minutes to help the Purple and Gold cruise to a 4-1 triumph. West Chester, who has now outscored its opponents 9-1 in the last two games after mustering just one goal during a two-match losing streak earlier in September, outshot Lock Haven 17-5 (8-3 in shots on goal) and ended the match with a 10-1 lead in corners.
Flock Talk
Cutter is enjoying an excellent senior season, leading the team in goals (six) and points (13), while Haughey is close behind with four goals and two assists for 10 points. Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), who was named PSAC East Player of the Year a season ago, is in the midst of another excellent season as well, leading the team in assists with seven while also adding a goal of her own for nine points on the year.
In goal, Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) has started all six matches and played all but 12 minutes of those matches, going 4-2-0 with a 1.02 goals-against average and two shutouts.
Breaking Out
Cutter is in the midst of an outstanding senior season as the forward leads the team in goals and points with a team-best six goals and one assist for 13 points on the year. Cutter began her senior season with 19 goals and 12 assists for 50 points and is just two goals shy of tying her career-high for goals in a single season, which she set in 2022 and matched in 2023. Cutter’s three game-winning goals already this year are also tied for the second most in a season in her career, trailing only the 2022 season when she scored four, including three in the postseason.
Road Trip
West Chester will conclude its three-game road trip on Wednesday night with its visit to Kutztown and will return home to host Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon beginning at 12 p.m.
The Rivalry
West holds a slim 31-14-4 lead in the all-time series vs Kutztown after going 1-1-1 against the Golden Bears in 2023. West Chester lost the season opener to the Golden Bears on Rockwell Field a year ago before playing to a draw in Kutztown later in the regular season and vanquishing the Golden Bears in the NCAA Tournament to return to the Atlantic Regional Championship game for the sixth time in seven seasons. West Chester and Kutztown have met in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, and the Golden Rams have won all three meetings, including a win in the 2022 Atlantic Regional Championship match in Albany.
Scouting Kutztown
Kutztown, ranked as high as eighth in Division II after starting the year a perfect 4-0 with wins over Concord, Charleston, Millersville, and Lock Haven, has hit tough times recently, going 0-1-3 over its last four. The Golden Bears started this stretch with a 1-1 draw vs. East Stroudsburg and a 2-2 draw at Shippensburg before falling to Bloomsburg by a 2-1 final and playing to a 1-1 draw vs. upstart Shepherd on Saturday afternoon to finish September.
Isabella Rossetti leads the team in scoring with five goals and 10 points, while Corrine Morgan is a close second with four goals and one assist for nine points on the year. Joslyn Stoltz is third on the team in scoring with three goals and has scored goals in two of the last three games for the Golden Bears. Cassidy Howes has played most of the time in goal, getting the starting nod in six of eight games and playing to a record of 3-1-2 with a 1.00 goals-against average and two shutouts. Morgan O’Donnell earned the starting nod in two games and is 1-0-1 with a 0.50 goals-against average.
