INDIANA, Pa. –
Amy Weinberg (Clarksville, Md./Atholton) dished out six assists and
Kim Hooven (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) scored four goals to help No. 16 IUP women's lacrosse to an 18-7 win over visiting Kutztown on Saturday afternoon at Miller Stadium.
Five of Weinberg's assists came in the first 11 minutes of action, as the Crimson Hawks got out to an early lead and cruised, improving to 11-5 overall and 9-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
IUP built an 8-2 lead in the first half, getting goals from Hooven,
Brenna Gallagher (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley),
Tara Nicholas (Germantown, Md./Northwest),
Ally Burrows (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus),
Adriana Greco (Sound Beach, N.Y./Rocky Point) and Weinberg. Kutztown added two more goals as the Crimson Hawks took a 9-4 lead into halftime.
The Golden Bears (6-9, 2-8) struck first in the second half to make it a four-goal game, but IUP responded with three goals in just over six minutes – including back-to-back goals by Hooven – to take a 12-5 lead with 22 minutes left to play.
Kutztown scored with 19 minutes to play, but IUP finished out its domination, as six different Crimson Hawks scored six of the game's final seven goals en route to the 11-goal win.
The Crimson Hawks outshot Kutztown 26-19 and held a 27-19 advantage in ground ball pickups, while also forcing the Golden Bears into 18 turnovers.
16 IUP players contributed to the scoring column, with 13 netting goals. Along with Hooven, Greco and Burrows also had multi-goal games.
The win clinched a playoff spot for IUP, the fifth straight PSAC tournament berth under head coach
Mindy Richmond. The Crimson Hawks still have a shot at a first round playoff bye, currently sitting in third place in the PSAC standings behind West Chester and Mercyhurst, both 9-1 in the league.
IUP will host East Stroudsburg (12-3, 7-3) in the regular season finale next Saturday.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's lacrosse on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPlacrosse.
