NCAA Division II Tournament: Semifinals & Final

It’s a rematch of their 2023 NCAA Semifinal game for Shippensburg and Kutztown. Last year, Kutztwon came away with a 2-1 win, which ultimately led to the Golden Bears claiming their first National Championship after defeating East Stroudsburg in the final. Now, Kutztown will look to defend their title.

The Golden Bears come into this game 15-5, and punched their ticket to Championship weekend in a 2-1 overtime victory against Southern New Hampshire. The first goal was from Sierra Jester – her first of the season – and the overtime game-winner came from a Juliana Donato penalty stroke after Erin Gonzalez was tripped in the circle. Donato also assisted the goal to Jester, tallying the 30th of her career – the third most in program history.

Kutztown has only fallen to PSAC opponents this season, including to Shippensburg. In their meeting this fall, the Golden Bears fell, 3-2, in a very evenly matched game against the Raiders.

Shippensburg has been atop of the Division II rankings throughout the entire 2024 season. They come into this game 19-1, their one loss stemming from unranked IUP. The Raiders lead the division in goals per game (3.60) as well as in save percentage (0.849), and have PSAC Defensive Player of the Year, goalkeeper Emma Albee, on their side. Shippensburg followed up their PSAC Championship win with a 3-2 win against Limestone in the NCAA First Round. Agus Garibaldi notched the first two goals for the Raiders, while Nya Gilchrist put away the third.

It should be a high-paced and close game between these two very familliar foes. In all-time meetings, Shippensburg leads 41-21.

FINAL: SHIPPENSBURG 3 - 4 KUTZTOWN

For the seventh straight year, East Stroudsburg is back in the NCAA Semifinals. It took a double overtime sudden-victory goal to decide the winner of their First Round game against Bloomsburg. Emma Friend and Kerry Kaufman scored the regulation goals while Minke Klijn tallied the game-winner for the Warriors. East Stroudsburg outshot their opponent 12-2, and also had significantly more offensive penalty corner opportunities (11-3). The Warriors have an offensive weapon in PSAC Offensive Player of the Year Jady van Gils, who now has 12 goals and 11 assists this season.

Saint Anselm will keep dancing after also winning in overtime in their First Round match-up. The Hawks got revenge over Assumption after falling to them in this same game last season. Down 2-0 with less than 30 minutes to play, Amanda Lewandowski finally broke open the scoring for Saint Anselm in the 43rd minute, and Maddie Davis tallied another just five minutes later to tie up the score. It would be junior Millie Forster with an overtime goal to solidify the ticket to Championship weekend for the Hawks. Sydney Falterer, who was in goal for Saint Anselm, had a strong performance that included seven saves.

East Stroudsburg comes into this game as the favorite, and dominated Saint Anselm early this season with a 6-0 shutout. The Hawks, who just took down Assumption in the NCAA Tournament after losing to them twice before this fall, should not be discounted.

Kutztown, the No. 4 seed, and Saint Anselm, the No. 8 seed, took down the two top teams to punch their tickets into the Division II NCAA Championship game. 

Kutztown defeated No. 1 Shippensburg, 4-3, in their Semifinal matchup. The Golden Bears came out strong, scoring two goals in the first quarter from Erin Gonzalez and Jessica Traynor. The second frame kicked off with a goal from the Raiders, cutting the deficit to one. Gonzalez answered right back with her 13th goal of the season, putting Kutztown's lead up to 3-1. Adding to the exctiment of the quarter, a Shippensburg goal was disallowed, only for them to score immediately after the review. Juliana Donato reclaimed Kutztown's two goal lead with a penalty stroke goal, as the Golden Bears led 4-2 at halftime.

The goal from Donato ended up being the gamewinner, as Shippensburg notched a third goal in the fourth quarter from Nya Gilchrist, but were ultimately unable to score again. Mia Kepler had a solid performance in net for the Golden Bears, making four saves, while defenders Sarah Gatehouse, Faineille Panati, and Marlee Fetrow all stood tall to help secure the victory.

Saint Anselm proved that they had what it takes in their Semifinal game on Friday. The Hawks made a 3-0 statement against No. 2 East Stroudsburg, a team they had lost to 6-0 earlier this fall. Maddie Davis opened the scoring for the Hawks with a penalty corner goal late in the first quarter, tallying her 100th point of the season. The third frame would prove busy for goalkeeper Sidney Falterer, who stopped all four shots she faced as the Warriors seemed to pick up steam. Play swung back in favor of the Hawks in the fourth, as Ava Rayfield and Stephanie Sutton-Brown both scored to seal the 3-0 victory. Falterer earned a shutout in the game and had five total saves. 

Kutztown will look to defend the title as the reigning champion, while Saint Anselm is back in the final for the first time since 2019, when they fell to West Chester, 2-1. The Golden Bears and the Hawks are ending their 2024 season the same way they started it -- together. The match all the way back on September 5 was a 4-0 win for Kutztown.