April 12, 2006
Final Stats
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -
Two goals over the final 5:39 proved to be the difference as the St. Bonaventure women's lacrosse team survived its biggest scare of the season in a 14-12 win at Le Moyne Wednesday afternoon at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex.
After trailing in the second half for the first time all season, the Bonnies found the score tied at 12 with 7:54 remaining. St. Bonaventure's leading scorers Katelyn Faas and Nicole Motondo came to the rescue, tallying back-to-back goals to steal the win.
"For the first time this season we found ourselves trailing in the second half," said head coach Tony Zostant. "We showed good composure and fortitude in this win and that's something we can take from this game."
The Bonnies are now 10-0, tying the best start in school history set back in 2003. The win also gives St. Bonaventure a school record 11th straight win. The brown and white remain as the only unbeaten team in Division 1. The loss snaps and seven-game win streak for the Dolphins' and drops them to 10-3 on the season.
Senior Courtney Gibbons' goal 30 seconds in was just the start of a barrage of scores by the Bonnies to start the game. The brown and white tallied six goals over the opening 8:50 to take a 6-2 lead. Junior Katie Hurley notched a hat trick during the Bonnies hot start, while sophomore Brenna Houghton tallied the other two goals and dished out three assists.
Le Moyne responded with a 3-0 run and four of the half's final five goals to pull within one, 7-6, heading into the break.
Much like the first half, Gibbons struck early in the second with back-to-back goals just 35 seconds apart to make it 9-6.
Three straight Le Moyne scores knotted the score at nine with 20:57 to go. Faas hit the net for the first time take back the lead, but was trumped by a pair of Dolphin goals that gave the home team its first lead of the game, 11-10, with 13:17 left.
Just minutes later, consecutive goals from Gibbons and Houghton gave the lead back to the Bonnies. Le Moyne's Liz Hewitt's goal at the 7:54 mark tied the score again, setting the stage for the dramatic ending.
Gibbons led the way with five goals, including three in the second half. She now has 99 career goals and is one score away from becoming the fifth player in school history to reach the 100-goal plateau.
Houghton finished with a team-high six points on three goals and three assists. Hurley's three goals all came in the first half, while Faas' pair of scores both game in the second stanza.
Sophomore Eboni Preston got the nod in cage for the fourth straight game. She stopped six Dolphin shots on the day to push her record to 6-0.
St. Bonaventure will return to McGraw-Jennings Field for a pair of home games this weekend. The Bonnies welcome Niagara to campus on Friday for a 1 p.m. start and will host No. 7 Richmond Easter Sunday at 11 a.m.
