April 11, 2008
Final Stats
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -
It's been a tough-luck season for the St. Bonaventure women's lacrosse team.
On Friday afternoon, things got even tougher as the Bonnies' Atlantic 10 postseason dreams took a big blow thanks to a heartbreaking 10-9 overtime loss to visiting Duquesne at McGraw-Jennings Field.
After back-to-back goals by junior Keri Vito and freshman Christine Hanley gave the Brown and White the lead, 9-8, with just 4:13 left in regulation, Duquesne tallied the game-tying goal with 57 seconds remaining. The Dukes scored in the first three-minute session of overtime and held on to improve to 2-2 in the conference.
The overtime loss is St. Bonaventure's (3-9, 1-4 A-10) third of the season and second in league action. The Bonnies are now 1-5 on the season in games decided by one goal.
A quartet of players finished with three points, led by Vito's second consecutive hat trick. All three of Vito's goals came in succession in the second half, including the then-go ahead goal with 4:13 left. Senior Kimberly Ross, sophomore Molly Hastrich and Hanley all collected their three points on two goals and one assist.
Senior Eboni Preston was sparkling in cage, once again, making 14 saves on the day. Preston made seven stops in the second half and two in the overtime period.
Duquesne took an early 5-2 lead just under 14 minutes into the game.
Ross helped the Bonnies climb back into the game by half, tallying back-to-back goals during a 3-1 run. Ross' second goal came off a perfectly placed pass from classmate Brenna Houghton and Hastrich closed the run with a free position goal for 6-5 halftime score.
Duquesne stretched its lead to two, 7-5, as Sarah Carson notched her fourth goal of the game in a slow start to the final frame.
Vito then accounted for three of St. Bonaventure's four goals during a 4-1 run that setup the dramatic finish.
With two games remaining, St. Bonaventure will need to win out and receive help from other league members to advance into the postseason. The Brown and White will have a week off before return to action on Friday, April 18 at UMass for a 4 p.m. draw.
