SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Shepherd University (3-1-0, 2-1-0 PSAC East) dropped a 5-3 decision to Kutztown (3-0-1, 1-0-0 PSAC East) in a key PSAC East matchup Saturday afternoon at Shepherd.
The 19th-ranked Rams started off strong in the first five minutes of the game when Junior forward
Merritt Delk (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park/Toledo) found the back of the net at the 3:12 mark off an assist from senior midfielder
Reagan Ackermann (Myersville, Md./Middletown/UNC Wilmington) to give the Rams an early 1-0 advantage.
Kutztown quickly responded, tying the match 1-1 at 6:35 on a goal from Carly Louey. The Golden Bears then took the lead just minutes later when Giovanna Marciano scored at the 10:01 mark to give Kutztown a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime.
The Rams came out strong in the second half at 64:05 and evened the score 2-2 when sophomore defender/midfielder
Aniyah Parker (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) netted a goal.
Kutztown regained the lead at the 68:02 mark on a goal from Maura Day.
Shepherd answered just 24 seconds later when junior midfielder
Olivia Gardner (Baltimore, Md./Sparrows Point) found the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3.
The back-and-forth battle continued until Kutztown's Corinne Morgan scored at 72:37 to put the Golden Bears ahead 4-3. Marciano added her second goal of the match at 81:08 off an assist from Morgan to help secure the 5-3 victory for Kutztown.
The Rams return to action on Wednesday when they play at Bloomsburg at 7 p.m.
