Bears
fall to Salisbury in NCAA semifinals, 3-2
LEXINGTON,
Va. – Sophomore Ashley Twigg
scored the game-winning goal in the 57th minute to lead top-ranked
Salisbury over No. 2 Ursinus 3-2 in the semifinals of the 2005 Division III
field hockey championships on Friday.
Megan Powell and Danielle
Twilley also scored to help the Sea Gulls (20-1) build a 2-0 lead
and continue their quest for their third straight national title. The defending
national champions will face Messiah for the NCAA crown on Saturday. The Falcons
defeated Bowdoin 2-1 in the earlier semifinal.
Karen Wendler (Burlington, NJ/Burlington)
and Kait Sutherland (Perkiomenville, PA/Perkiomen
Valley) teamed up twice on penalty corners for the Bears (20-3)
goals in the second half.
Ursinus outshot the Sea Gulls 17-4 in the closing half, but Maria
Ramoundos tallied 13 saves for Salisbury to stop the Bears short
of their first championship debut.
Characteristic to a championship game, Ursinus scored back-to-back goals to make
it 2-all before Salisbury netted the game winner and relied on defense for in
the remaining 13:26 for its 11th straight tournament victory.
After
the Bears made it 2-all, Salisbury took off after the whistle on the restart and
48 seconds later, Twigg gave the Sea Gulls the lead for good. Starting on a
penalty corner, Twilley fired a shot and Nikki
Thren (Barto, PA/Upper Perkiomen) was there to make the defensive
save, but Twigg’s managed to get the game-winning goal.
Down
2-0, Ursinus used the same penalty-corner play twice to make it even with 14:14
left in the second half. At the 42nd minute, Sutherland started the
corner and played the ball to Wendler, who found the inside of the cage to make
it 2-1.
Relying on what worked before, the duo struck again in the 56th
minute to close in on the Sea Gulls at 2-all.
The Bears had multiple opportunities in the final 13 minutes, including Jenni
Moore’s (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) shot missing just wide
right off a pass from Melissa Buckley
(Gibbstown, NJ/Paulsboro) in the 65th minute. Ursinus
kept the pressure on, hoping to even the score once again, but Salisbury stopped
the Bears on their two final penalty corners with 2:35 remaining.
Ashley Ettinger’s (Schwenksville,
PA/Boyertown) last-attempt shot with 10 seconds left was saved by
Ramoundos.
In
a defensive first half, the Sea Gulls were able to capitalize on their fourth
penalty corner in the 33rd minute. Tracey
Lloyd took the initial shot from the top of the circle and Powell
made the run in to grab the rebound and put the ball in the back of the cage for
a 1-0 lead.
Both
teams each had an opportunity to score off penalty corners in the first half.
Ursinus fired off three of their four shots in the first half on the corner at
the 10:49 mark. Ettinger took the first shot, before Cappa rattled off two that
were saved by Ramoundos.
With 5:40 on the clock, Salisbury came down the field and blasted three
consecutive shots, all saved by Jess
Lamina (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) to keep it a scoreless
half until the remaining 2 minutes, 49 seconds.
Twilley put the Sea Gulls up 2-0 in the opening minutes of the second half. Sarah
Tracey gathered the ball from Abby
Rowe at the top of the circle and passed it left to Twilley for
the goal.
Lamina finished with five saves, while the Bears held a 12-7 edge in penalty
corners.
The
win Salisbury tied an NCAA record for most tournament wins.
Score
by Period
1 2
- F
Ursinus
(20-3)
0 2
- 2
Salisbury
(20-1)
1
2 -
3
Scoring
S
– Megan Powell, 32:11
S
– Danielle Twilley (Sarah Tracey), 39:55
U
– Karen Wendler (Kait Sutherland), 41:58
U
– Wendler (Sutherland), 55:46
S
– Ashley Twigg, 56:34
Shots:
S 12, U 21. Penalty Corners: S 7,
U 12. Saves: S 13 (Maria Ramoundos);
U 5 (Jess Lamina).
