Tribe Lacrosse Defeats Delaware, 9-8, in CAA Opener

Tribe Rallies Three Times in Second Half, Senior La Nolan Nets Game-Winner

03/31/06 8:30PM

WILLIAMSBURG - William and Mary senior attacker La Nolan (Ruxton, Md./Maryvale) broke an 8-8 tie with 5:33 remaining on her second goal of the game, and sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Roth (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) recorded a clutch save on a free-position shot in the final minute to lift the 14th-ranked Tribe over Delaware, 9-8, in a Colonial Athletic Association women’s lacrosse game at Albert-Daly Field.

Senior attacker Colleen Dalon (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) scored three goals to pace W&M (6-3, 1-0 CAA), which won its conference opener and second-straight, and junior midfielder Kristen Wong (Richmond, Va./Trinity Episcopal) added two goals, four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Roth finished with seven saves to earn her fourth victory of the season.

Delaware (3-6, 0-2) led 4-3 at the break and took an 8-7 lead in the final 10 minutes on goals by Jenny Diana and Diana Hall. Diana, Megan Hager and Casey McCrudden each had two goals for the Blue Hens, who dropped their third-straight. UD netminder Jessica Cerveny recorded 11 saves in defeat.

In a tight battle that featured three ties and three lead changes in the second half alone, W&M opened CAA play for the second consecutive year with a victory at home. Neither team led by more than two goals at any point with possession being paramount, and W&M held a 15-5 advantage in draw controls, including a 7-1 margin in the first half. Dalon led the Tribe with four draws controls, while Wong, Nolan, senior Morgan Lang (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) and junior Jamie Fitzgerald (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) each had two.

But, even with the disparity in draws, the Blue Hens took care of the ball when they did have it, committing only six first-half turnovers, and Cerveny made six stops to keep the Tribe attack in check for much of the opening frame. At the other end, the Blue Hen offense was efficient against a stout Tribe defense led by Lizzy Bayly (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) and Ashley Bolton (Narbeth, Pa./William Penn Charter), as UD managed only nine shots, but seven of those shots were on goal. Roth recorded three first-half saves and each of her stops was critical in a tense opening session.

McCrudden opened the game’s scoring with a free-position goal 5:10 in, and Hager gave the Blue Hens a 2-0 lead with an unassisted tally at the 22:13 mark. Although UD turned it over only six times in the first, it was a Blue Hen miscue that led to the Tribe’s first goal. After Roth picked up one of her team-high tying four ground balls off a turnover, the Tribe established possession at the other end and continued to work against a tenacious Blue Hen backline with Nolan, from behind the net, assisting on Dalon’s first goal at the 17:42 mark. Cerveny temporarily preserved a one-goal lead with a save on a free-position shot by Tribe freshman Clare Dennis (Catonsville, Md./Catonsville), but W&M regained possession off the rebound, and Dalon once again found the net to tie the contest, 2-2, with 15:10 on the clock.

Roth turned away a free-position shot by McCrudden two minutes later, and Cerveny returned the favor moments later, stopping a shot by Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, Md./Maryvale), but after UD cleared the zone Lindyn Soviero put the Hens back on top with an unassisted goal at the 11:15 mark. Lang corralled the resulting draw to give W&M another touch, but Cerveny posted two more stops, and Hager’s second goal on an assist from Katie Muth with 5:56 remaining in the first gave UD a 4-2 advantage.

Down two once again, the Tribe went back to the attack after another draw control by Dalon and cashed in on quality possession when Fitzgerald made a strong run to goal and ripped a shot into the top shelf past Cerveny to trim the deficit to 4-3 with 3:34 remaining in the first.

The teams exchanged turnovers in the opening two minutes with Lang causing one for the Tribe, and Stephanie McQuade forcing one of her team-high three for UD. Muth picked up a ground ball after McQuade’s caused turnover, and McCrudden was eventually awarded a free-position opportunity, which she converted 3:06 into the period, pushing the lead back to two, 5-3.

Cerveny stopped a Fitzgerald shot less than a minute later to keep the margin at 5-3, but after Wong forced a Blue Hen turnover, Dalon completed the hat trick and pulled the Tribe within 5-4 with 25:41 remaining. UD controlled the ensuing draw, but after Hager’s shot was blocked, Bayly picked up a ground ball and quickly sent the action the other way. Less than two minutes after Dalon’s third, Nolan rattled home her first off a ridiculous pass by freshman Julia Martin (Woodside, Calif./Menlo) that split a couple UD defenders to tie the affair once again, 5-5.

It didn’t UD long to get back in front, though, as Diana scored her first with 21:38 remaining to give the Hens a 6-5 lead. UD nearly went ahead by two after Hager lassoed the next draw, but Roth blocked Soviero’s bounce attempt, one of four key second-half saves, to keep W&M close. The teams went back and forth over the next five minutes, and each squad had chances to light the scoreboard with shots missing wide and hide at both ends.

Another Roth ground ball gave W&M possession with under 18 minutes to play, and after Cerveny denied an initial shot by Nolan, Wong was in the right place at the right time, scooping up the rebound and firing a shot into the back of the net all in one motion to once again knot the score, 6-6, with 16:43 re-maining. Seconds later, literally before the W&M faithful had settled down from the game-tying goal, the ensuing draw popped right in Wong’s direction, and in one lightening-fast strike, the junior midfielder picked up the draw and turned on the afterburners, outracing the entire Blue Hen defense from mid-field to bounce an uncontested shot past Cerveny into the bottom right corner and give W&M its first lead of the contest, 7-6, just nine seconds after she had tied the game.

But after a UD timeout, McCrudden gained possession off the reset, and less than two minutes later, Diana crushed the Tribe’s momentum with a nifty one-on-one move and an unassisted goal at the 14:37 mark to again draw even, 7-7. After another big save by Cerveny, the momentum appeared to slowly swing into the visitor’s favor. Roth recorded another save, and two UD shots sailed wide to keep it even, but Diana eventually connected with Hall, who made a nice cut to the goal on the left side and whipped an underhand shot into the net to put the Blue Hens back on top, 8-7, with 9:43 remaining.

W&M controlled the resulting draw, but after a Tribe turnover, Cerveny picked up a ground ball, and it looked as if UD would have an opportunity to sneak out of Williamsburg with its second win in three visits, dating back to 2003. However, on the clear attempt, Lang jarred the ball loose from Muth right at the attack line, and the all-conference midfielder scooped up the ground ball and charged the goal, tucking a wicked blast just inside the right post with 8:52 remaining to tie the contest for the third time in the second half, 8-8.

Lang had a chance to put the Tribe in the lead as well less than a minute later, but Cerveny stopped a free-position attempt by the senior, and UD gained control. But, the Blue Hens once again failed to clear the zone when sophomore Lauren Coll (Phoenixville, Pa./Archbishop Caroll) caused a turnover, and who else but Wong picked up the loose ball. After patiently working the ball around, sophomore Jaime Sellers (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) rolled behind the cage out to the left side and fed a streaking Nolan, who took a couple steps and fired home what proved to be the game-winner with 5:33 remaining.

Dalon corralled the ensuing draw, and it did indeed look as if Nolan’s tally would be the difference, as W&M used the entire attack zone and effectively worked the clock under two minutes. But, after a Tribe turnover, UD would have a late potential game-tying opportunity, carrying possession into the other end. After some brilliant Tribe defense in the closing minute, Muth was eventually awarded a free-position opportunity in the final 40 seconds. Muth took three steps and tried to go low, but Roth was there for the stick save. The sophomore did not allow a rebound, or any other Blue Hen possession with a perfect outlet pass to clear the zone, and W&M ran off the final seconds for the conference victory.

Lang picked up four ground balls and finished with two caused turnovers. Bolton and Fitzgerald each caused a turnover as well, and Bayly finished with a pair of ground balls.

W&M continues CAA play on Sunday afternoon, hosting Towson (4-5, 1-1) at 12 noon, while UD also is back in league action on Sunday, visiting Old Dominion.

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