Field Hockey Places Four on 2024 All-America Team

The NCAA Division II national runner-up Kutztown University field hockey team had four student-athletes recognized as 2024 All-Americans by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). Midfielder Juliana Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Schalick) and defender Sarah Gatehouse (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) were First Team selections, while forward Erin Gonzalez (East Earl, Pa./Garden Spot) and defender Danielle Panati (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) were named to the Second Team.

Gatehouse earned her third straight All-America First Team honor, Donato is a repeat selection from 2023, and Gonzalez and Panati are first-time All-Americans. The quartet led Kutztown to another outstanding season in defense of its 2023 national championship. The Golden Bears finished 16-6, reached the NCAA DII national championship game for the second year in a row and spent every week of the 2024 season in the top three of the NFHCA national poll.

Donato, the team's top two-way player, controlled the midfield for the Maroon and Gold. She started all 22 games, putting up 18 points on 6 goals and 6 assists. The Cedarville, N.J., native scored the game-winning goal on an overtime penalty stroke to lift Kutztown past Southern New Hampshire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and finished 3-for-3 on stroke attempts this season. Donato earned All-PSAC First Team and NFHCA All-America First Team honors in both 2023 and 2024. She ranks third all-time at KU with 30 career assists.

Gatehouse, from Sinking Spring, Pa., solidified herself as one of the top defenders in program history with another tremendous season. Defensively, she helped KU hold opponents to one goal or fewer in 14-of-22 games, which included 7 shutouts. Gatehouse was also deployed on offensive penalty corners, finishing with 18 points on 6 goals and 6 assists. The three-time All-PSAC First Team and NFHCA All-America First Team selection started all 22 games for the second year in a row and finishes her career with 79 starts and games played. Gatehouse also added to her academic accomplishments with a second consecutive NCAA Elite 90 Award. The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average at each of the NCAA's championship sites.

Gonzalez took her game to a new level this fall with career-highs of 13 goals, 5 assists and 31 points. She led the team in goals, points and game-winning goals (4). The junior from East Earl, Pa., amassed five multi-goal games, including a two-goal performance (and game-winning goal) in Kutztown's upset of No. 1 Shippensburg in the NCAA DII national semifinals. Gonzalez had already produced 20 and 19 points in her first two seasons, respectively, and sits at 30 goals, 10 assists and 70 points through 62 career games.

Panati joined Gatehouse as a crucial piece of Kutztown's back line. The senior from West Chester, Pa., started and played in all 22 games for the second year in a row. A three-year starter, Panati capped her career with 75 games played and 64 starts. She helped the Golden Bears record 7 shutouts in 2024. KU ranked third in the PSAC and ninth in NCAA DII with 0.32 shutouts per game, while also ranking top 10 in the nation in goals against average (1.17).

Kutztown's four All-America selections are the program's most in a single season since it had five honorees in 2005. The program record for All-Americans in a season is six, back in 1997.