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Herons fall in OT in NCAA Semifinal
November 19 , 2004
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Junior Maggie Dolan scored William Smith's
goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to Salisbury
in the NCAA Semifinals. |
WESTFIELD, Mass.—Salisbury University senior Erin Budd connected on a penalty stroke 8:41 into the first overtime to lead the Sea Gulls to a 2-1 overtime victory over William Smith College in the NCAA Semifinals this afternoon at Westfield State College. The defending national champion and top-ranked Sea Gulls (21-0) advance to the title match tomorrow at 3 p.m. against the winner of Messiah/Middlebury.
William Smith (18-3) got on the board first when Maggie Dolan fired a shot from inside the circle pas Salisbury goalkeeper Maria Ramoundos just 5:21 into the contest. She was assisted by Liz Saucier on the play. The Sea Gulls pressured the Heron goal for much of the remainder of the half, but the Heron defense was outstanding and took William Smith into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Salisbury controlled much of play in the opening 35 minutes, outshooting the Herons 11-3 and winning the penalty corner battle 11-1.
The second half proved to be much of the same as the Sea Gulls tied the score at one just 1:56 into the session on a goal by Megan Powell. Salisbury nearly took a 2-1 lead in the 61st minute on a penalty stroke, but Heron goalie Sue Jordan made a diving stick save to keep the game knotted at one. William Smith got a couple late chances but could not connect forcing overtime.
The Herons came out of the short break on fire, winning four straight penalty corners to start overtime and firing four shots, but couldn’t find the back of the cage. With just over six minutes left Salisbury sophomore forward Lynette Sgrignoli broke loose for a one-on-one with Jordan and was awarded a penalty stroke after a foul was committed inside the circle. Budd stepped up and fired it high into the right corner of the net for the 2-1 victory.
The Sea Gulls outshot the Herons 28-9 and held a 22-7 advantage on penalty corners. Jordan had a career-high 15 saves for William Smith, while Ramoundos made eight stops.