This year, the Golden Bears added a new weapon to their already explosive offense: Cait Hess, a six-foot right-side hitter who transferred from Wilmington University last year. Due to the NCAA transfer regulations,  Hess was able to work out and practice with the team, but was not eligible to play until this year. Hess wasted no time in her first match, notching 13 kills and four blocks,  according to kubears.com.

“It feels good to be back because I waited so long,” Hess told kubears.com. “It was hard last year having to sit out all of the games. I felt pressure to do something because I didn’t want to be looked at as old or rusty.”

While Hess was on center stage on Friday, sophomore setters Dana Wright and Kimberlee Gordon combined for 34 assists. Senior Jamie Celcia added 16 digs.

The Golden Bears overcame a 2-1 deficit and two match points to beat C.W. Post. Juniors Cali Snell and Hess combined for 24 kills while the setting combination of Wright and Gordon provided 42 assists.

“We worked hard today and neither one of these victories came easy,” Confer told kubears.com. “I believe,  as a team, we got better this weekend. This was an awesome day and everybody contributed to these wins today. Efforts like today can only help our confidence.”

The women’s volleyball team will take on Post University on Friday, Sept. 10, at 3 p.m.

Senior Cristina Reimer placed third overall with a time of 22:35.6 to help earn the Golden Bears their fourth-place spot with 114 points. Sophomore Becca Brandt (23:47.7) and freshman Jennifer Cleary (23:53.1) placed 21st and 22nd, respectively.

Prior to the start of this season, the women were ranked second in the region and 17th in the nation, according to the United States Track and Field Cross-County Coaches’ Association Top 25 Poll.

With a strong start to their season, the Golden Bears are looking forward to their next meet on Saturday when they host the Maroon and Gold Invitational, starting at 10 a.m. The Golden Bear women won last year’s Invitational and hope to repeat their victory.

Also competing in this year’s Maroon and Gold Invitational, the men’s cross-country team hopes to continue the consistency they achieved at the beginning of this season. They did just that during the Lehigh Invitational when two men placed in the Top 25, merely one second apart, according to kubears.com.

Junior Ryan Reich took the unofficial lead, placing 22nd with a time of 19:43, while freshman Zach Fleming placed 24th with a time of 19:43.9. Although ranked 10th in the PSAC coaches’ preseason poll, the Golden Bears hope to exceed expectations.

After the Golden Bears’ first two games, the team jumped four positions to 18th in Division II.

According to kubears.com, sophomore midfielders Stephanie Borland and Morgan Murraco helped the offense by each scoring twice. Senior midfielder Jen Pyne, sophomore midfielder Julia DiFerdinando and freshman forward Megan Black all contributed to the offense explosion.

KU womens’ soccer coach Erik Burstein said, “Although it is still very early in the year, I am very proud of the way we have progressed so far this season. All of the girls are embracing our style of play and we are seeing tremendous results. As long as we stay focused, and we continue to push ourselves on the training field, I am very confident we will continue to see good performances and positive results.”

The team continued their dominance in the next game against Assumption College.

Black did her part by scoring two goals with sophomore midfielder Crystal Zerbe. Junior Carolynne Kahl and sophomore midfielder Sarah Black each scoring one goal.

Assumption College looked like they were going to be a challenge in the second game, holding KU to only a 1-0 at halftime, but (with a four-goal second half) KU left the Greyhounds barking in the distance.

The Golden Bears look to continue their winning streak against Mercyhurst on Friday, Sept. 10, at 3 p.m. at home.

The Golden Bears were ahead only 6-0 at halftime, but had a strong second half led by sophomore running back Josh Mastromatto, who ran for a career-high 104 yards and three touchdowns. Mastromatto became the first player to achieve such a feat since Kyle Spotts did the same thing in 2007 against Millersville University. Sophomore quarterback Kevin Morton ended up with 225 yards passing. Sophomore wide receiver Colby Tuell had a great first game. He caught five passes for 86 yards, according to kubears.com.

The KU defense forced St. Anselm to punt on its first five possessions, forced four turnovers and held the Hawks to only 112 yards of offense in the second half. With KU clinging to a 6-0 halftime lead, Mastromatto provided the Golden Bear offense with a jolt by returning the opening kickoff of the second half 37 yards. Seven plays later, Morton scored on a 7-yard touchdown run that gave the Golden Bears a 13-0 lead, according to kubears.com.

The Golden Bears have great expectations for this season, as they have a number of returning starters: senior defensive end Kevin Bolinsky; senior linebacker Joel Irwin; senior safety Khalief Evans; and senior strong safety Jay McKnight. Along with all the returning starters, the Golden Bears also have a great freshmen class coming in with cornerback Corey Harris and wide receivers Dan Gay and Austin Sahd.

Head Coach Raymond Monica stuck to his philosophy by saying “We are taking this season one game at a time. Mercyhurst is a great team. They are good on offense and they have a very physical defense.”

KU is now 4-1 in season openers under Monica. KU plays again this Saturday at home on University Field against Mercyhurst College at 6 p.m.

For the Golden Bears, this brought their record to 39-11, with a 16-8 record in the PSAC East conference, falling just short of claiming the title from West Chester, who held on by one game.

KU dominated the first series against Millersville, combining for a total of 24 hits in both games, 18 of those coming in the second game of the double-header. Shayne Houck started the first game with bang, hitting a two-run home run, making Millersville pay for walking batter Jared Frey in the previous at-bat.

KU struck again in the third inning with Mike Kulbacki going yard, hitting a three-run shot, putting KU up 6-1 early on. KU kept the lead intact for most of the game, as Jonathan Grosse pitched strong in his first four innings of work, giving up only one run.

Things got a little dicey in the top half of the fifth inning for Grosse, allowing three runs on three hits, as Millersville climbed back 7-4, making things interesting for KU.

But, as it has for most of the year, KU sent in pitchers Jordan Garcia and Adam Maini to stop the late rally. Both pitched solid innings for KU, holding the lead and finishing the game as KU won 8-4.

The offense decided the second game of the double-header for KU, scoring six runs on five hits in the first inning, setting the offensive tone for the rest of the game.

Todd Rubendall got a hit in all of his three at-bats with two runs batted in and scoring a run himself.

The bench managed to get some production, scoring eight runs on six hits.

With the playoffs looming, KU needs to get players off the bench or out of the bullpen to get the outs and runs necessary to go deep in the playoffs.

Pitcher Tyler Persun, who got the win for KU, pitched deep into the game, going five innings and allowing one run on seven hits.

Mike Bucklin and Tom Neely ended the game for KU, which had already built up a 20-run lead for each pitcher to hold.

The same could not said be for the second double-header on Saturday, as KU struggled to keep its early 2-0 lead, after starting off the game strong by getting two runs on four hits.

Millersville seemed to stay around the whole game, cutting KU’s lead to one in the third inning on two hits and finally tying it up at 2-2 in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

Five grueling innings later of extra inning action, Millersville broke the tie in the bottom of the 11th inning after a single to centerfield saw KU’s chances of winning the PSAC fading fast.

The second game was no better than the first, as KU only managed to get four hits in the entire game, getting shut out for the first time in two weeks, the last time being when the team was blanked by rival West Chester.

Even without the PSAC East title, KU still has a good enough team to go far in the playoffs, with an offense that can strike at anytime. Combine that with solid starting pitching and relief, and KU is a force to be reckoned with.

KU will start its playoff push Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. against Mercyhurst in Johnstown, Pa.

California University (Pa.) finished first with a collective score of 595. The Golden Bears followed in second with 643. West Chester finished in third with 665, followed closely by Gannon in fourth with 666. Mercyhurst, with 691, and East Stroudsburg, with 746, rounded out the standings for the tournament.

Corbo — who was named to her second-consecutive All-Conference team — earned her seventh-place finish shooting a 157 in both rounds, 13 over par. She led all KU golfers in the second round with a 76, two strokes ahead of third-place finisher Karen Cash of East Stroudsburg, who shot a 78 in round two. Corbo finished the first round with an 81.

Glatfelter finished her freshman year with a sixth-place finish, shooting a 156 (12 over) on the 5,777-yard Hershey course.

Corbo and Glatfelter’s teammate, freshman Nina Antos, finished in a 14th-place tie with Courtney Kling of West Chester, shooting a 163 (19 over).

Junior Samantha Rumbley finished in 19th with a 167 (23 over), and sophomore Morgan Todd finished in 26th place, shooting a 183 (39 over), tying Becky Benner of East Stroudsburg.

“I think everyone went out there and gave their best efforts,” Glatfelter said to kubears.com. She added, “It was really sad to see the season come to an end; I look at this team as part of my family.”

Rumbley told kubears.com, “This was one of the greatest seasons in school history.” She added, “I am really glad that we were able to end it on such a high note.”

The Golden Bears will hope to capture the PSAC title next season with six of seven players returning.

Senior basketball star Stephen Dennis and senior swimming standout Steph Jeppeson took home the Athletes of the Year honors, while senior tennis player Rohini Das and senior track-and-field star Ben Loht claimed their Senior Scholar Athletes of the Year, but wasn’t there to accept it.

Junior basketball player Steve Coffey led the invocation, while Kendel Dixon of men’s track-and-field was the student-athlete speaker.

Dixon spoke of his life in sports while at KU, and said he will miss saying, “I’m in the best shape of my life.”

He also spoke of how KU opponents fear KU sports and that ESU was thinking of changing their mascot name to the “Brown Bears” to borrow from the “Golden Bear” name and reputation.

The highlight of the evening was the naming of the men’s and women’s Athletes of the Year.

Dennis was named because of his stellar senior year in basketball, but wasn’t present to accept his award.

Steph Jeppeson claimed her award with a smile, being honored for her list of swimming accomplishments and four school records.
Jeppeson holds school records in the 100-meter breaststroke, the 200-meter breaststroke, the 200-meter individual medley and the 400-meter medley.

There were nine nominees for Female Athlete of the Year—two from softball and one of each from swimming, track-and-field, tennis, volleyball, field hockey and women’s basketball.

There were six men’s nominees— one from basketball, football, track-and-field, wrestling, men’s tennis and baseball.

Closing out the ceremony was Athletic Director Greg Bamberger, who noted KU has been high in the ranks in almost all sports and feels confident the PSAC Dixon Sports Trophy will return to KU this year.

The team has struggled against opponents this season, finishing 3-14 overall and 0-10 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).

After a 12-11 win against Philadelphia University, the Golden Bears hit the road to tackle their last two games of the season. At Millersville, KU lost by 11 goals, finishing the game with a score of 19-8.

In the last game of the season, KU faced Bloomsburg University (ranked fourth in the PSAC) and fell short, scoring just five goals while Bloomsburg netted 23.

The team, which has now completed two years as a university-sanctioned sport, has suffered consecutive losing seasons. However, this isn’t an uncommon trend when a sport is just established at KU.

Women’s soccer started off with a 1-8 season in 1984, men’s tennis began their run as a university sport with a 1-7 record in 1985, and even field hockey went 0-5 when they were formed back in 1969.

“It just takes time to find your team and players that make your team. We are now holding our own in games, that in the next years we will be winning,” said Head Coach Sarah Greer.

Next year the team will have 16 players who are freshmen or sophomores, which should help them play better together.

“I now have a team and players that will be with me a few years and will help to continue to improve the program. I have hard working players and players that are excited to continue to be successful in the future,” Greer added.

During the season, two key players were injured: sophomore Emily Solt and freshman Kelsey Hogan. With these two players returning and some new additions to the roster, the Lady Bears hope to keep improving with time.

Although the team looks forward to a more promising season next year, seniors Janice Kinney and Samantha Crist played their last game in the 23-5 loss to Bloomsburg.

The Huskies had a 12-2 lead at halftime with goals from sophomore Rachel Mehaffey and freshman Emily Savini.

Though the Lady Bears attempted to rally, Mehaffey’s two additional goals after the half and an unassisted goal from freshman Amanda Bushong weren’t enough to keep KU in the game.

This year freshman Karly Waltman has shown decent improvement as a goalkeeper.

Waltman, who had never played lacrosse before this season, had seven saves in the game and saved 139 shots throughout the season.

Out of the PSAC playoff running, the Lady Bears look to return next season improved and ready to play.

Freshman Kori Meshaw sprinted his way to first place in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing the race with a time of 53.98 seconds.
Meanwhile, senior Kendel Dixon grabbed second place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.99.

The 4×400-meter relay team also grabbed second place with a time of 3 minutes, 19.79 seconds. The team consisted of Meshaw, Dixon and sophomores Eli Weeks and Matt Cannell.

Cannell and Weeks each earned third place in other events that day: Weeks finished the 800-meter run in 1 minute, 53.63, and Cannell boasted a 22.66 finish in the 200-meter dash.

The Golden Bears return to the track on May 1 for the Princeton University Invitational, held at Princeton’s Weaver Stadium in Princeton, N.J.

Women’s track
Also at the Paul Kaiser Invitational, the KU women’s track-and-field team excelled and had several runners finish first in their events.

Sophomore Rachel Hunte won the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.93 seconds, while freshman Shante Grayer finished fewer than two seconds behind (59.37) to earn fifth place.

KU snagged four of the top five spots for long jump, with freshman Kristin Slack winning the event with a jump of 5.41 meters, sophomore Christina Costanzo taking second for her 5.20-meter jump and junior Katie Colburn rounding out the fourth-place spot with a jump of five meters.

Freshman April Doyle took first place in the shot-put competition, beating her opponents by almost two full meters after she landed a 13.52-meter throw.

Also, junior Ashley Pinter’s 49.3-meter hammer-throw won her first place for the event.

The Lady Bears return to action when they head to New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational on May 1.

In Saturday’s game one, KU started off with a bang, scoring five runs off junior Bloomsburg pitcher Shavaun Fisher.

Freshman Maria Isgro doubled to left field to start the first inning, scoring later in the inning on an error by Bloomsburg second baseman Danielle Lazorka. Freshman Katie Lynch reached base on Lazorka’s error.

Sophomore Nicole Henninger stepped up to the plate and singled to center field, which advanced Lynch to second.

Freshman Brianna Knipe singled in the next at-bat, loading the bases for sophomore Heather Hannum.

Hannum, who has played off the bench this season, took the bases-loaded opportunity to showcase her power by launching a grand slam to give KU a 5-0 lead.

Bloom answered in the second, scoring two runs on three hits off senior pitcher Katlin Arbogast. To prevent the lead from shrinking further, Arbogast was pulled in the second and replaced with junior Monica Glomb.

Glomb pitched the final six innings well, allowing only one run on seven hits, striking out two. KU led 5-2 at the end of the second inning.

The Golden Bears stretched the lead to 6-2 when freshman Kristen Cornelis scored on a Nicole Charles sacrifice fly.

The lead stayed 6-2 until the seventh when the Huskies scored a run, cutting the lead to 6-3.

KU put the game out of reach in the seventh inning. With runners on first and second, Charles singled to load the bases.

Knipe then scored on a fielder’s choice. KU scored three more runs in the inning, expanding the lead to its final 10-3 score.

In game two, Bloomsburg started off the first inning scoring one run on one hit. The Golden Bears did the same in the bottom of the inning, making the score 1-1.

The Golden Bears took command of the game in the bottom of the third inning when they batted around. Freshman Jennifer Stow singled to center field. Lynch picked up an RBI when she singled to center, which scored Stow.

With the bases loaded, Hannum stepped up to the plate and reached on an error, bringing home Henninger and Lynch. Charles singled and brought home Tedjeske, which made the lead 5-1.

With the lead assumed safe, KU gave up the four-run lead in the top of the fourth, surrendering six runs on eight hits.

Bloom amassed 14 hits in the game, nine of which came off Arbogast. Arbogast was pulled in the seventh and replaced by Glomb who gave up five hits and three runs in two-thirds of an inning.

The game ended 7-5 and knocked the Golden Bears out of the PSAC hunt, but the team will go on to regionals the weekend of May 14.