Slow Start, Strong Finish for 'Noke Women
from press releases
SALEM, Va. - Down 3-2 midway through the first
half, Roanoke reeled off six of the next seven goals and never
looked back as they defeated Cabrini, 14-9 in the first round of
the NCAA Tournament Wednesday evening. The Maroons (16-4) will
advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament while the
Cavaliers end their season at 12-5.
With the score tied 4-4 with just over a minute remaining in the
first half, two Roanoke players were given yellow cards and had to
sit out for three minutes which went into the start of the second
half. Gina Valles free-position goal with nine-seconds left to
take a 5-4 lead at the half.
Valles continued her dominance in the second period as she scored
her second man-down goal of the game within the first two minutes
of the half to take a 6-4 lead. She scored three of the first
four Maroon goals to take an 8-5 lead with 23:49 in the second half
as Cabrini called timeout.
The Cavaliers' timeout paid off, scoring back-to-back goals to
close to within one, 8-7 with 17:35 left. After Carolyn Miller
and Meegan Rourke scored goals for Roanoke, Jacquelin McDermott
answered with a goal of her own to make it, 10-8 at the 11:57
mark.
Mary Kate Cummings delivered the final blow for Roanoke, scoring
three of the final four goals for the Maroons to seal their 16th
win of the season. The 16 wins tie the 1988 team for the
second-most single-season wins in school-history.
Roanoke outshot Cabrini, 40-27 and won in groundballs,
30-21. The Maroons were successful in 21-of-26 clear attempts
and all four of their free-position shots.
Valles finished with three goals, one assist and three caused
turnovers to lead Roanoke. Paige Mason scored two
free-position goals along with two assists. Miller and
Cummings scored three goals each and Rourke added two to help the
Maroons in the win.
Bianca Catta-Preta scored a goal and caused a season-best five
turnovers. Katlyn Scarlett finished with nine saves, seven in
the second half and collected two groundballs.
Kerri Ricker and Amand Alexandrowicz scored two goals each to lead
the Cavaliers. Jamie O'Hanlon added a goal and an assist while
Kate Schmid collected three groundballs, caused four turnovers and
stopped 20 shots in the losing effort.
The women will travel to New Jersey to play Gettysburg College
in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, May
9. The Maroons lost last season to the Bullets, 14-2 at the
World of Disney. Game time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
