The Slippery Rock University’s Women’s Field Hockey Team came out victorious by the score of 3-2 in a conference game against the no. 5 Kutztown Golden Bears last Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson field.
The game remained scoreless for most of the first half until Kutztown took the early lead when senior Morgan Aldinger scored 22 minutes and 34 seconds into the game. SRU would end up tying the score later in the half when freshman forward Kayla Ulrich scored with only 57 seconds remaining in the half, which was assisted by Senior midfielder Kayla Mack. The score stayed one apiece at halftime.
A little less than eight minutes into the second half, Slippery Rock took its first lead of the game when Ulrich, once again, scored a goal. That marked Ulrich’s second goal of the game and her eighth of the season.
“She’s starting to feel the pressure of being marked as our leading scorer and she just worked a little bit harder to get open and make things happen and it was great to see,” said head coach Julie Swiney.
Kutztown wound up tying the game when Aldinger scored her second goal of the game less than 15 minutes later. Senior forward Kailee Krupski ended up breaking that tie when she scored the game-winning goal with less than seven minutes left in the game. Kayla Mack recorded her second assist of the contest on the game’s final score.
Both squads recorded six shots on goal and Slippery Rock recorded four saves to Kutztown’s three. Freshman Maddie Murphy and senior Nicole Bream split time in goal for The Rock. Murphy recorded two saves and allowed one goal, while Bream recorded one save and allowed the other goal. SRU’s other save was credited to the team.
As for the Golden Bears, senior Chardonnay Hope stayed in net for the entire game. Hope recorded two saves and allowed three goals. The other save for Kutztown was credited to the team.
“That was awesome. I’m really proud of them.” Swiney said.
Swiney also said she thinks that this win along with the win against West Chester really gives her team a lot of confidence to know that they can really compete against anyone in the league. “It’s just exciting to see them believing in themselves and executing on the field.”
The Rock’s record improved to 8-3 (3-0) while Kutztown’s record fell to 6-4 (1-2).
