Virginia Downs UMBC, 16-7

Story Links

April 30, 1999

CATONSVILLE, Md. – The Virginia Cavaliers showed determination and resilience in demonstrating a total team effort in their defeat of UMBC tonight 16-7 in Catonsville. Twelve different Cavaliers were in the scoring column for the Cavaliers, led by Samm Taylor (Springfield, Va./Robinson) who had two goals and a career-high three assists in the effort. Kristin Keller (Wayne,Pa./Radnor) notched her first two career points tonight as she assisted on a pair of goals and Mary Sauer (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) doubled her output for the season with a one-goal, two-assist performance tonight as well. The Cavalier defense stymied the Retriever attack, which had been ranked sixth in the nation in scoring offense at 13.31 goals per game. The Hoos caused 22 turnovers on the evening, breaking ten of UMBC’s 27 clear attempts.

The Retrievers got on the board first as Jamie Gerhart scored on a crease roll just 1:51 into the game. The Cavaliers answered as Taylor hit a streaking Jess Hull (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) four minutes later. Virginia took the lead for good two minutes later as Kelly Allenbach (West Chester, Pa./W.C. Henderson) converted a quickstick feed from Jamie Haas (Berwyn, Pa./MarpleNewtown). Taylor fed Hull a second time less than a minute after the Allenbach goal to give the Cavaliers a two-goal lead. UMBC cut the deficit to one as Gerhart snuck in a second time on a drive to the cage at 19:08.

The Retrievers took a time out halfway through the period after Taylor converted a free position at 15:14, but out of the time out the Cavaliers scored two goals in 67 seconds to take a 6-2 lead. Taylor hit Sambus driving to the cage on the ensuing draw, and on the next draw Haas worked the ball downfield, spun and rolled in front the cage and fired a shot into the net.

The Retrievers Renee Tirocchi scored on a great individual effort at the 10:11 mark to bring UMBC to within three, but the Hoos scored the final four goals in the last 7:41 to take a 10-3 lead at halftime. Haas scored her second consectutive goal at 7:41, coming off a rebound of her own miss. On the next draw Meredith Elwell (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) got the ball at the restraining line and ran it in, hitting the far post and slamming it into the net. With just over two minutes to play in the half,

Mia Mooney(Rosemont, Pa./Shipley) took a Haas feed to the cage. The Cavaliers closed out the scoring with 12 seconds to go in the half as Mills Hook (Lutherville,Md./St. Paul’s) scored the first of her three consecutive goals off a feed from Sauer, taking the 10-3 lead into the break.

Hook opened the scoring for Virginia just 1:26 into the second half as she took a Hull feed in for the score. UMBC broke the five-goal run as Gerhart scored off a Debbie Krastel pass four minutes later. But Virginia ripped off four consecutive goals to take an 11-goal lead, starting with Hook’s game-high third goal just a minute after UMBC’s goal. Hook rolled on the right side of the cage and bounced a shot into the net for a hat trick and a 12-4 lead. Virginia’s Lacey Aumiller (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) held her composure long enough on a drive to the cage a minute later as she was checked going in but made the goal to give Virginia a 13-4 lead. Keller then caused a turnover in the defensive third and carried the ball downfield where she outletted it to Sauer, who ran it in for the ten-goal margin at 18:48. Sauer contributed to the next goal, a scorcher by Taylor at the 15:32 mark, to give the Hoos a 15-4 edge, forcing UMBC to take a time out.

Virginia then replaced goalie Francis Segarra (Coto Laurel, P.R./GlenMills (Pa.)) who made six saves on the evening while allowing four goals, with Liz McCarthy (La Jolla, Ca./Taft (CT)). McCarthy made one save and allowed one goal, scored by Jennifer Kuehn on a crease roll at the 12:40 mark which cut the deficit to 15-5. Virginia went up by 11 again as Keller assisted on her second goal of the night, this time to Lauren StevensonChestertown, Md./Kent Country), with 8:15 to go.

The Hoos replaced McCarthy with Mary Beth LaVerghetta (Towson,Md./Notre Dame Prep) who made a point-blank save in her first shot faced. But with 3:36 to go in the game, UMBC’s Krastel converted a free position for a shooting space violation and two minutes later she cut lead to 16-7 with a crease dodge.

Virginia finished the regular season with a 13-5 record and awaits the decision of the NCAA committee, which will award bids on Sunday night, May 2 at 8:00 pm. The Cavaliers are currently ranked #2 by the IWLCA poll and went to the championship game in 1998.

                 1   2   Final (Records) Virginia (#2)   10   6     16    (13-5)UMBC             3   4      7    (13-5)

Goals: (V): Hook 3, Haas 2, Taylor 2, Hull 2, Sauer, Elwell, Allenbach, Stevenson, Mooney, Sambus, Aumiller (U): Gerhart 3, Krastel 2, Kuehn, TirocchiAssists: (V): Taylor 3, Sauer 2, Keller 2, Haas 2, Hull (U): KrastelShots: V: 41, U: 17 Saves: V: 8 (Segarra 6, McCarthy 1, LaVerghetta 1), U: 16 (Jagoda 16)Turnovers: V: 16, U: 24 Caused turnovers: V: 22, U: 5 Free position attempts: V: 3, U: 3Ground balls: V: 34, U: 25 Draw controls: V: 18, U: 7 Fouls: V: 15, U: 8Clearing: V: 15-17, U: 17-27