KUTZTOWN, Pa. — Millersville and No. 14 Kutztown exchanged goals throughout the first half, but the Golden Bears' second-half performance solidified a 20–12 victory over the Marauders. 

Ashlyn Simonetti led the Marauders' offense for the second straight game, matching a season-high by scoring five goals.

Kutztown scored two goals in less than a minute to take an early lead in the first. Simonetti got the offense rolling for the Marauders when she notched the first goal in the third minute of play. The goals continued to flow for Millersville as Mary Moraca, Rachel Keeney, and Jodylynn Cadden followed to take a 4-2 lead. 

Kutztown found the back of the net twice more, but Simonetti scored before the period ended to give Millersville a 5-4 lead.

"Offensively, it was one of the best halves of the season," said head coach Mike Faith. "We had a bunch of assisted goals; they used their IQ to find the open players, and we finished our shots."

An action-packed second quarter resulted in four different lead changes. Both teams went goal-for-goal until Kutztown found the equalizer in the 20th minute. The Golden Bears scored two more goals to regain the lead for the first time since the first quarter, 9-7.

Kaleigh Funk capitalized on a free-position opportunity to help cut the deficit. Simonetti tallied the equalizer with three minutes remaining. At the same time, Funk cashed in on a second goal with six seconds to go, giving Millersville the 10–9 upper hand entering the second half of play. 

Kutztown changed their trajectory in the second half. The Golden Bears scored eight goals in the third to Millersville's one to take a 17-11 lead.

"They are ranked 14th for a reason, and they created easy opportunities for themselves by causing turnovers in the ride and off the draw," said Faith.

Millersville was outscored 3-1 in the fourth for the Golden Bears to clinch a 20-12 win and their fourth PSAC East victory.

"Now that we have played them, we will 100 percent play differently on defense," Faith mentioned. "We had some great sets on defense, so we will build on those for next time." 

The Marauders will regroup and compete against Shippensburg under the lights at Biemesderfer on Saturday, April 5 at 7 p.m.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Millersville shot 26 shots with a .885 accuracy rate, placing 23 shots on the frame. 
• Katlyn Krebs notched a season-high with four caused turnovers. 
• The Marauders out-possessed the Golden Bears on the draw control,19-17.