April 22, 2007

Final Stats

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The St. Bonaventure women's lacrosse team used a 7-0 run midway through the second half to come away with a 12-11 comeback win over a feisty UMass squad on Sunday afternoon at McGraw-Jennings Field.

With the win, the Bonnies (8-4) clinch a berth in next month's Atlantic 10 Tournament and improve to 5-0 in conference play. St. Bonaventure has now reeled-off seven-straight wins and remains in sole possession of first place in the A-10. The loss drops the Minutewomen to 6-9 on the season and 1-4 in league action.

"Coming back from a four goal deficit shows the determination and heart that our team plays with," said head coach Tony Zostant. "UMass came after us today, and it was great to see us maintain our composure when it counted."

Junior Brenna Houghton finished with a team-high five points on three goals and two assists. The one-two punch of junior Kimberly Ross and sophomore Katelyn Faas each had a hat trick. Faas became the sixth player in program history to score 100 career goals late in the first half, eclipsing the plateau in just 29 games.

The first half featured just seven goals with the last coming off the stick of Faas with 4:23 remaining to give St. Bonaventure 4-3 halftime lead.

UMass got things going in the second half and in a hurry as they tallied six of the first seven goals of the final frame, including five-straight; in the opening 10 minutes to take a 9-5 lead with 20:06 left to play.

The Brown and White got back into the game in the big way as they responded with a 7-0 run that absorbed just over 12 minutes to take a 12-9 lead. The comeback was ignited by strong midfield play as the Bonnies won 6-of-7 draw controls during the run, allowing them to keep possession. Ross tallied all three of her goals during the run, while Houghton had the last two scores off of feeds from freshman Patty Nessle.

Playing with their postseason lives at stake, Massachusetts converted on back-to-back free position shots in just a minute half to climb within one, 12-11, with 6:11 remaining.

Each team had three possessions in the final six minutes of the game. UMass had one final chance at tying the score with seconds remaining, but turned the ball over as time expired.

The Bonnies owned a 15-9 edge in draw controls, led by a career-high six from Ross. St. Bonaventure also held a 31-26 shot advantage and converted on 11-of-14 clear attempts.

Junior Eboni Preston made 10 saves in cage to bring her double-digit save streak to seven.

Junior Stephanie Jordan finished with two goals and a career-high four draw controls. Freshman Lynsey Wager rounded out the scoring with her eighth goal of the season during the 7-0 run.

St. Bonaventure will closeout A-10 regular season play next weekend with stops at Richmond and George Washington. The Bonnies head to Richmond on Friday for a 3 p.m. tilt.