Tribe Lax Fights Off Blue Hens, Advance to CAA Championship

Box Score

05/02/08 11:40PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - In a game that was not decided until the final whistle, the College of William and Mary’s 20th-ranked women’s lacrosse squad defeated a determined University of Delaware squad, 15-14, in the semi-finals of the Colonial Athletic Association Championships on Friday afternoon at Albert/Daly Field.

With the win, the College (10-8) advances to Sunday’s CAA Final and will face 18th-ranked Towson University, who won its semi-final tilt with George Mason later Friday evening. It will be the Tribe’s first appearance in the CAA Championship game since the 2004 season, when the team fell in overtime 13-12 to a hosting James Madison squad. William and Mary has not claimed a CAA Championship in the sport since the 1992 season, when it won the inaugural league tournament.

The top-seeded Tribe used a determined effort from first-team All-CAA midfielder Jaime Sellers (Kennebunk, Maine) and CAA Rookie of the Year Grace Golden (Manhasset, N.Y.) to overcome what was a three-goal half-time deficit. The pair combined for seven total goals, with five coming off the stick of Sellers. With five scores, Sellers moved her sea-son total to 65, which moves her into the top-position on the Tribe’s all-time single-season scoring list (passing Pixie Hamilton’s former record of 64 goals, set during the 1979 season). Sellers has now scored at least one goal in all 18 games on the season for the College, including 15 contests with three, or more, scores. Golden was one of four Tribe players to record two goals on the afternoon, along with Clare Dennis (Catonsville, Md.), Ashley Holofcener (Reisterstown, Md.) and Maggie Anderson (Richmond, Va.), and now sits just two goals from breaking Hamilton’s freshman scoring mark of 45, set in 1977.

The Blue Hens came out of the gates with all guns blazing, as it used a commanding first half draw advantage (11-5) to build up a 9-6 halftime lead. The Tribe was able to work around its inability to control the draws over the first 15 minutes of play, as Anderson finished a beautiful feed from Holofcener to give the Tribe a 6-5 lead at the 8:29 mark. But, the Blue Hens’ attack fed off some outstanding play in the midfield to piece together a four-goal run to end the half, getting scores from four different players, with the last success coming from Debbie Sloan with just 46 seconds remaining.

Sensing that its six-game home winning streak was in some jeopardy, the College collected itself during the intermission and came out focused for success in the second half. After the Tribe controlled the opening draw (the first of 11 second half draws that were to come for the College), junior attacker Julia Martin (Woodside, Calif.) quickly capitalized on the opportunity, finishing a free position attempt just 25 seconds into play. Minutes later, Sellers finished a slick wrap-around from the left side of the crease to move the score to 9-8 (26:34) for the start of what would be a historic three-goal run for All-American candidate. Just under a minute later, Sellers secure her 15th hat-trick of the season on a free position shot at 25:17, then, turned in the record tying score with a powerful solo run down the right side of the crease at 23:57, moving the Tribe into the lead, 10-9.

From this point forward, the two teams simply slugged it out, as the lead would change hands five times over the remainder of play. Delaware’s Alexis Curcio responded to Sellers heroics by scoring off a helper from Katie Muth to bring the first of five ties to come at 10-10 (23:34). The next Tribe score was generated off the dazzling speed and athleticism of Golden, as she blazed past the Blue Hen defense and finished at 19:56 to give a College a short-lived 11-10 edge, as Muth found the net off a feed from Emily Schaknowski at 18:13 to put the game even at 11.

The Hens’ Corinne Drost gave her side its final lead [at 13-12] of the afternoon just minutes later, finishing an unassisted run at 16:39. Sellers created yet another scoring opportunity just over a minute later, by weaving to the front of the crease through multiple defenders and hammering home the record-breaking goal at 15:20, moving the game to 12 all. The next goal was one of the slickest of the afternoon for the College, as sophomore Mary Zulty (Jarrettsville, Md.) feathered a long helper from behind the cage to Golden, who was moving towards the net on the high right side of the crease. Golden cradled in stride and glided to cage and finished all in one continuous motion, putting the Tribe up 13-12 at 13:44.

Delaware netted an opportunistic equalizer less than a minute later (12:41) and seemed poised to threaten for the lead and upset win. But, Dennis collected one of her game-high four draws on the ensuing re-start and created a crucial scoring opportunity with her explosive speed, slashing through the right side of the crease and unfurling a laser that she pin-pointed between the keeper’s stick and the upper cross bar into the twine at 10:32, pushing the Tribe back into the lead at 14-13.

With the two team’s battling for every possession, it was Delaware that pieced together the next successful scoring chance, as it used the combination of Schaknowski to Muth to bring yet another tie at 14-14, with 7:56 remaining. Exactly one minute later, Holofcener drew and finished one of the squad’s more pressure packed free-position shots in recent memory and restored the Tribe tenuous lead at 15-14. The College collected and controlled the ensuing draw and proceeded to display some text-book possession, running nearly the remainder of the game-clock out in the Delaware end. The Blue Hens gained just one possession over the remaining 6:56, but freshman keeper Emily Geary (Wayne, Pa.) was even to the test and recorded one of her 10 saves on the afternoon.

Delaware ends the season with an 11-6 mark.

Opening draw for Sunday’s contest will be at 1:00 pm.