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Harvard Holds On To Top Hopkins, 9-8, In ECAC Final
May 12, 2002
Baltimore, MD - Sophomore midfielder Jen Brooks (Winchester, MA/Winchester) scored three goals and sophomore goalkeeper Laura Mancini (Philadelphia, PA/Sacred Heart) made 15 saves as the Harvard University women's lacrosse team held off No. 18 Johns Hopkins, 9-8, Sunday afternoon in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship at Homewood Field. Mancini was named the game's Most Valuable Player for the Crimson, who finished its season with a 9-7 record. Hopkins fell to 10-8 with the loss. Harvard led 5-4 with 21 minutes to play but broke the game open with three straight goals. Freshman midfielder Elaine Belitsos (Lutherville, MD/St. Paul's) scored an unassisted goal at the 19:19 mark, and free position goals by Brooks and Katie O'Brien (Springfield, MA/Minnechaug) put the Crimson up 8-4 with 12:06 remaining. Hopkins sophomore midfielder Heidi Pearce (Chestertown, MD/St. Andrew's) cut the lead to three with an unassisted goal at the 8:56 mark, but Harvard freshman attacker Casey Owens (Kennett Square, PA/Tower Hill) answered with a free position goal with 4:12 to play. The Blue Jays would make a run, as junior attacker Meghan Burnett (Auburn, NY/Auburn) scored a free position goal with 3:01 left and scored off an assist from senior attacker Jamie Larrimore (Chestertown, MD/Kent County) just 35 seconds later to make it a 9-7 game. JHU freshman attacker Erin Riordan (Brightwaters, NY/Bay Shore) scored off a feed from senior attacker Erin Wellner (East Williston, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) to make it a one-goal game with 1:40 remaining, but Harvard won the ensuing draw control and ran out the clock.
Burnett led the Blue Jays with three goals and two assists, while Wellner added a goal and two assists. Junior goalkeeper Jen McDonald (Garden City, NY/Garden City) made nine saves and Riordan and Larrimore each scored a goal and an assist for Hopkins, while Katie Shaughnessy (Garden City, NY/Garden City) scored a goal and assisted on another for Harvard.
Both teams struggled to create quality scoring chances in the first half, and the game remained scoreless until Larrimore scored off a Wellner assist to give Hopkins a 1-0 lead at the 18:29 mark. However, the Crimson would respond with two goals by Brooks and an unassisted goal from Shaughnessy to take a 3-1 advantage with 8:21 remaining in the first half. Senior midfielder Christy Peterson (Fallston, MD/Fallston) cut the lead to one when she scored off a Burnett assist, but Harvard took a two-goal lead into halftime after Heather Gotha scored an unassisted goal with 2:17 left in the half. Burnett again made it a one-goal game when she scored off an assist from Riordan just 58 seconds into the second half, but Harvard answered with a goal from senior Hilary Walton (Chestnut Hill, MA/St. Paul's) at the 23:18 mark. Wellner scored off a Burnett pass just over two minutes later, but the Crimson went on a three-goal run to take control of the game.
Harvard (9-7) 4 5 -9 GOALS: JHU- Burnett 3, Larrimore, Peterson, Wellner, Pearce, Riordan; HU- Brooks 3, Shaughnessy, Gotha, Walton, Belitsos, O'Brien, Owens. ASSISTS: JHU- Burnett 2, Wellner 2, Riordan, Larrimore; HU- Moroz, Shaughnessy, Christino. SAVES: JHU- McDonald (11 sv, 9 GA); HU- Mancini (15 sv, 8 GA). NO. 18 JOHNS HOPKINS VS. HARVARD WOMEN'S LACROSSE SCORING SUMMARY SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2002 o HOMEWOOD FIELD o BALTIMORE, MD-30- |
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