April 18, 2006

Final Stats

ST. BONAVENTURE - The last unbeaten team in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse went down on Tuesday afternoon as Duquesne upset St. Bonaventure, 13-9, at McGraw-Jennings Field.

The Dukes surprised the 18th-ranked Bonnies (12-1/3-1 Atlantic 10) by jumping out to an 8-2 lead midway through the first half and then frustrating the home team the rest of the way.

Kelly Mulford scored six goals to lead Duquesne (8-4/1-2), which won its first Atlantic 10 Conference game this season and defeated St. Bonaventure for the fourth straight year.

The Bonnies were fresh off a 12-10, Easter Sunday win over then-No. 9 Richmond.

"We were a little flat from the start, playing for the second time in three days against a very good team," said Bonnies coach Tony Zostant. "We can learn from this and bounce back."

Duquesne jumped out to a 2-0 lead just under four minutes into the game on goals by Mulford and Caroline Gallagher. St. Bonaventure freshman Katelyn Faas scored to make it 2-1 at the 26:31 mark but Duquesne went up 4-1 with two goals just 34 seconds apart.

St. Bonaventure junior Katie Hurley made it 4-2, but Duquesne then scored four unanswered goals to go ahead 8-2 with 13:16 remaining in the half. Gallagher, Meg Cloutman, Kathleen McNish and Allison Smith scored in the Dukes' surge.

Sophomore Brenna Houghton finally stopped the run with a goal at the 9:29 mark, and senior Courtney Gibbons made it 8-4 just 33 seconds later on a free position shot.

Mulford, though, scored with 2:09 left and Duquesne held a commanding 9-4 lead at halftime - the first time this season that the Bonnies trailed at the half.

Hurley opened the second half scoring with a rebound goal off a save by Dukes keeper Meredith Norris and Gibbons made it 9-6. Mulford put in her fourth tally of the day 23:27 to make it 10-6, but Faas scored off a feed from Sarah Dressler that made it 10-7 only 20 ticks later.

Duquense regained its momentum when Mulford then scored a pair of goals around another by Meredith Williams and the Dukes were firmly in control, ahead 13-7 with 14:49 left.

Norris made 12 saves on the day while Bonnies sophomore goalie Eboni Preston finished with eight.

Faas led St. Bonaventure with three goals while Gibbons and Hurley tallied two apiece. With her goal Gibbons became the fifth player in program history to reach the 100-goal plateau. Houghton and senior Nicole Motondo recorded the remaining Bona goals.

Mulford also added a pair of assists to finish the day with eight points.

The contest was the first for St. Bonaventure as a ranked team. The Bonnies are No. 18 in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Top 20 poll.

The Bonnies will complete their home schedule this Friday, April 20, when George Washington visits McGraw-Jennings Field. Draw time will be 3:30.