Posted: Apr 11, 2009
SALEM, Va. --- #20 Roanoke needed some last-minute heroics to defeat in-state rival Christopher Newport, 10-9 in non-conference action Saturday afternoon. The Maroons improve to 12-4 while the Captains drop to 9-4 on the season.
Tied 9-9 with just under two minutes remaining, the Maroons powered their way to victory stemming from a Melissa Madalon caused turnover around the net and flipped the ball to goalie Katlyn Scarlett to start the clear attempt. She then found an open Gina Valles down the field as she scored uncontested for her third goal of the game and the eventual game-winner. Scarlett, who just had her first career assist, stopped back-to-back shots in under 15-seconds to secure the Maroons 12th victory of the season.
With the win, the Maroons, who are atop the ODAC standings with a 7-0 mark, are now 5-1 against CNU in what was a south region showdown. The win avenged last season's 15-14 overtime loss suffered at Captains Field last season.
The Maroons out shot Christopher Newport, 27-16, 22-14 shots on goal and held a 16-9 groundball advantage. They forced 23 Captains' turnovers and were successful in 15-of-17 clear attempts.
Things appeared bleak for Roanoke in the first half as they were down, 5-2 with three minutes remaining as CNU reeled off four of the last five goals.
Four different players scored unanswered goals for the Maroons to grab their first lead of the contest, 6-5 with three minutes gone in the second half. Paige Mason started the run with the final goal of the first half. That momentum carried over into the second stanza as Elizabeth Hartge, Mary Kate Cummings and Valles scored to take the slim lead.
Roanoke, ranked #20 in this weeks' IWLCA Div. III poll, was led by Valles with three goals and one assist, two draw controls and two caused turnovers. She is now two points shy of 11th on the all-time scoring list at Roanoke (154 pts). She is also tied for eighth all-time in career goals (122), fourth in draw controls (89), sixth in caused turnovers (44) and seventh all-time in career shots with 262.
Hartge had arguably her best game of the season with three goals, two draw controls and two caused turnovers. Cummings netted two goals while Mason had one goal, two groundballs and four draw controls. She is now fifth all-time in career draw controls with 88.
Alida Haslett led all players with four groundballs along with four caused turnovers while Cristen Sanfilippo led the team with a game-high five caused turnovers and two groundballs.
CNU, who sits atop the USA-South with a 4-0 conference mark, were led by Kaitlin Quigley with three goals while Chrissy Rogers had two goals for the Captains. Katie Doherty finished with a goal and an assist. Rebecca Abood finished with three groundballs and two caused turnovers.
Gayle Robinson had 12 goals for CNU, including eight in the first half along with two groundballs. Scarlett picked up all five of her saves and her first career assist in the second half in addition to three groundballs for the Maroons.
The women will host Hollins on Friday, April 17 in the regular season finale. The Maroons are 28-2 in the series since 1978 and haven't lost since 1979. With the win, Roanoke clinches a #1 seed and will host throughout the ODAC Tournament. In addition, they can capture their first undefeated conference record since 1999. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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