Salisbury, F&M Advance to WD3 Championship Game
from staff reports
SALEM, Va. - The NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament couldn't ask for a better opening semifinal game than the performance put on by Gettysburg College and Salisbury University on Saturday, May 16, at Donald J. Kerr Stadium.
The Sea Gulls tallied the contest's last two goals and survived
a last-second shot by the Bullets that clanged off the post to slip
by 11-10 and advance to Sunday's national title game against
Franklin and Marshall. The Diplomats defeated defending Division
III champion Hamilton, 16-13, in Saturday's second semifinal.
Gettysburg (16-4) and Salisbury (20-1) had the fans on the edge of
their seats for 60 minutes as the two squads traded blow-for-blow,
starting with the Bullets grabbing the initial lead on a goal by
junior Hollis Stahl (Highstown, N.J./Peddie School) just over two
minutes into the contest. The Sea Gulls wasted all of 10 seconds in
answering as Robyn Bishop scored off the draw, kicking off a
three-goal run that put Salisbury up 3-1 with 21 minutes left in
the first half.
Hollis Stahl and Allegra Formento embrace after Stahl's second
goal. Just over 10 minutes into the contest, freshman Hannah Church
(Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales) tossed in a free position shot,
the first of Gettysburg's season-high six free position goals of
the day. The Bullets continued to hold the momentum as Stahl scored
her second goal and juniors Lexie Hearn (Old Greenwich,
Conn./Greenwich) and Jessica Crane (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury)
each scored on free position attempts, putting the team up 5-3 with
under five minutes left in the half.
Salisbury tried to find a way past junior goalkeeper Kristen
Krammer (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg), but Krammer stonewalled the Sea
Gulls in the first half, making seven her game-high nine saves in
the opening stanza. She also made several big saves on free
position attempts, holding Salisbury to 1-for-5 in the first
period.
Salisbury scored the final goal of the first half and tacked on
the opening score of the second to even the game at five. Hearn
polished off a perfect effort on the eight-meter arc with her
second and third free position goals, putting Gettysburg back in
front 7-5 with 19:32 remaining.
Meagan Osipowich cut the deficit to one with a free position goal,
but Hearn found Stahl just 49 seconds later to regain the two-goal
advantage. The margin was short-lived, however, with Salisbury
scoring 21 ticks later and adding the equalizer with 14:05 on the
scoreboard.
Each time one team scored, the other seemed to take the ball down
to its own offensive end and score. This time it was Gettysburg's
turn as Crane beat her defender to the left and scored, giving the
Bullets a 9-8 lead with 12:19 left.
As the clock dipped past the 10-minute mark, Bishop tossed in a
goal to lock the game, but once again Gettysburg had a quick answer
as sophomore Heidi Bitter (Darien, Conn./Westminster) converted a
free position attempt 28 seconds later to set the score at 10-9 at
9:31.
Salisbury waited for its time to strike on offense and the Sea
Gulls made it count, working the ball around the Bullets defense
and eventually finding Ashleigh Gender in front for a goal to tie
the game. Bishop had the next conversion, giving Salisbury its
first lead since 10 minutes into the game with a goal at 3:08.
The Sea Gulls won the ensuing draw control and appeared to be
ready to ride the time out, but Gettysburg's defense continued to
pressure the ball and forced a turnover. The Bullets were unable to
get a shot off on its offensive passion and Salisbury came up with
the loose ball, marching its way to the other end of the field with
under a minute to go.
The Sea Gulls made an errant pass behind the goal that went out of
bounds, giving Gettysburg one last chance to tie the game with 39
seconds left on the clock. The Bullets cleared the ball all the way
up the field and with time slipping away, Church made a move left
to the goal. Her shot hit off the post and was secured by Salisbury
as the horn went off.
Salisbury held slight advantages over Gettysburg in several
categories, including shots (26-23), ground balls (12-9), and draw
controls (13-10). The Bullets also committed two more turnovers
than the Sea Gulls (14-12).
Hearn and Stahl each finished with three goals, the former
adding an assist. Crane added two goals and tied Stahl for team
honors with three draw controls.
Gettysburg's defense held Salisbury seven goals below its season
average. Krammer finished with nine saves and two ground balls,
while junior Anna Scanlan (Lutherville, Md./Roland Park Country
School) recorded three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Beth Rhodey tallied four goals for Salisbury and Bishop added a
hat trick and two helpers. Osipowich came up with one goal and four
helpers, while Gender managed two goals and one assist. Sonja
Stuart made six saves in the Sea Gull goal.
