COLLEGEVILLE, PA - Ursinus College's Ashley Ettinger split the Franklin & Marshall defense for an unassisted goal at 71:19 as the #4 nationally ranked Bears (19-1) overcame a 3-1 deficit with nine minutes left in regulation to defeat the #11 nationally ranked Diplomats (16-4) 4-3 (OT) in the 2004 Centennial Conference field hockey championship game.
Trailing 3-1, the Bears closed to within one goal at 61:02 as Crystal McCarney finished a pass from Joyce Koubaroulis with a shot that deflected off F&M goalie Michelle Altman (Jr., Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) and clanged inside the right post to pull to within a goal. The Bears nearly tied the game at the 66:28 mark off a scramble in front of the net, but the officials called the goal back.
With 2:27 remaining on the game clock, Ursinus finally put home the tying score as Jess Rogers ripped a shot inside the left post for unassisted goal to knot the game at 3-3.
However, Franklin & Marshall nearly took the win as the Diplomats fired three shots in the final minute. The Diplomats best shot at scoring the golden goal came with 27 seconds remaining on the clock as Ursinus goalie Jessica Lamina left the net wide open, but F&M could not get a shot off before the Bears' defense collapsed on the ball to preserver the 3-3 score and force overtime.
In the extra 15 minutes of seven-on-seven action, the Bears kept possession of the ball for the opening 1:19 before Ettinger went down the middle for a one-one-one opportunity as she placed a shot one foot high and into the right corner of the cage for the game-winning tally.
The goal marked the first time Ursinus led in the game as the Bears trailed 1-0, 2-1, 3-1 and 3-2 before closing out the rally for the win.
Overall, F&M took the lead less than six minutes into the game as Lindsey Mummert (So., New Oxford, PA/New Oxford) forced Lamina to commit to a split before tucking a shot just inside the right post for a 1-0 lead at the 5:56 mark.
The key to the early lead for F&M was the defensive play of Liz Onasch (Sr., Bowling Green, OH/Bowling Green), who recorded back-to-back defensive saves at 23:19 and 22:59, and Lindsay Mohr (Sr., Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen), who tallied a defensive save at 17:19, to keep the slim lead.
The Bears knotted the game nearly 13 minutes following the Diplomats' score as Karen Wendler fed a pass to Molly Stevens who fired a shot from outside the circle which deflected off the left post and into the goal mouth for a 1-1 tie at 28:17.
However, the Diplomats countered as Eileen Keever (Jr., Prospect Park, PA/Interboro) sliced the Bears' defense before leaving a pass for Maggie Onasch (So., Bowling Green, OH/Bowling Green) who buried the assist inside the right post over a sprawling Lamina for a 2-1 lead at 30:03 as Franklin & Marshall carried a 2-1 lead into halftime.
After the break, the Diplomats' defense went back to work as Ursinus allowed the ball to cross midfield once in the opening 17 minutes of the second half before the F&M offense began to take over the half.
Facing an onslaught, Lamina made another sprawling stick save with 17:01 left on the game clock before Brittany Croll (Jr., Frankford, DE/Indian River) fed a pass to Stacy Swymelar (Jr., Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) with 14:45 to go which glanced off the side of the left post and out of bounds to keep the score at 2-1.
F&M put an insurance goal on the board at 55:15 as Croll broke away from the Bears' defense, but was dragged down from behind for a penalty shot. Facing Lamina one-on-one, she buried the shot over the goalie's left hand for a 3-1 lead with 14:45 to go in the game to set up Ursinus' comeback.
Historically, Croll's goal marked the 36th of her career as she tied Sandy Swope '36 for sixth in goals at Franklin & Marshall College.
In goal, Altman was a force stopping 17 shots as Ursinus out shot the Diplomats 26-11 and held a 20-6 advantage in penalty corners. In the second half alone, she turned away 12 of the Bears' 16 shots and faced 11 corners to help her team to the lead.
Lamina finished the game with six saves, including five in the second half, as the Bears captured the Centennial Conference championship only three years after dropping down from NCAA Division I.
Defensively, Liz Onasch finished with three defensive saves, while Mohr, Erin Benjamin (Sr., Mt. Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) and Brynn Jackowski (Sr., Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) added one apiece.
Courtesy the Centennial Conference championship and the CC champions automatic bid, Ursinus advances to the NCAA Tournament.
F&M, which erased the previous school single season scoring record of 67 goals as the team has scored 73 goals this season, will now await word from the NCAA late Sunday night regarding a possible at-large berth to the organization's national championship tournament set for November 10, 13-14 and 20-21. If the team does not make the NCAA field, F&M will await word from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) regarding a berth in the organization's Mid-Atlantic Region Championship Tournament set for November 10, 13-14 at campus sites.
In the history of field hockey at the College, F&M has advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times (1981, 1982, 1983, 1991 and 1992), with only the 1981 and 1982 bids coming courtesy a conference championship.
#11 Franklin & Marshall (16-4) 2-1-0 -- 3
#4 Ursinus (19-1) 1-2-1 -- 4
Goals: F&M - Lindsey Mummert (unassisted), 5:56
UC - Molly Stevens (Karen Wendler), 28:17
F&M - Maggie Onasch (Eileen Keever), 30:03
F&M - Brittany Croll (penalty shot), 55:15
UC - Crystal McCarney (Joyce Koubaroulis), 61:02
UC - Jess Rogers (unassisted), 67:33
UC - Ashley Ettinger (unassisted), 71:19
Saves: F&M - Michelle Altman, 17 (70 minutes)
UC - Jessica Lamina, 6 (70 minutes)
Shots: F&M 11, UC 26
Corners: F&M 6, UC 20
