Posted: Apr 13, 2011
FREDRICKSBURG, Va. --- Roanoke fell to #16 Mary Washington, 19-16 in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon. The Maroons fell to 7-7 while the Eagles improve to 10-6.
The Eagles hold a 14-11 series lead over their in-state foe, claiming nine of the last 10 meetings. Roanoke out-shot UMW, 43-35 and forced 14 Eagle turnovers. Both teams collected 11 groundballs each.
Roanoke took the early lead within the first two-minutes of play with goals from Gina Valles (South Windsor, CT, Westminster ) and Carolyn Miller (Clinton, MD, St. Mary's Ryken). Mary Washington responded with three unanswered goals to take its first lead of the contest, 3-2 with 24:01 left in the first half.
The score changed hands as Roanoke scored three of the next four goals to make it, 5-4 at the 14:48 mark. With the game knotted at 7-7 with four-minutes remaining in the half, The Eagles scored back-to-back goals over the ensuing two minutes to take a 9-7 edge. Valles cut the Maroon deficit in half just before halftime.
Valles found Meegan Rourke (Greenwich, CT, Millbrook School) for her second goal of the game to open the second half and tie the score at 9-all. That's when Mary Washington took the lead for good by netting four-straight goals to take a 13-9 advantage.
The Maroons came within two goals of the Eagles on five different occasions over the final 20-minutes. Valles and Lauren Callison went back-and-forth scoring three goals each in the last six minutes of action. Both players had six goals each on the day.
Valles led all scorers with 10 points, which included a game-best four assists. She collected five groundballs and was 3-for-4 on free-position shots. It was the fifth time in her career with at least 10 points in a game. She now has 82 points on the season, which ranks her 10th for most points in a single-season. Her 34 assists this spring are the sixth-most in a season at Roanoke. For her career she now has 368 career points, which ranks 10th on the NCAA Div. III all-time list.
Rourke scored four goals for Roanoke, followed by Allison Bonanno (Ridgewood, NJ, Ridgewood) with two. Jamie Golden (Timonium, MD, Notre Dame), Kathleen Wager (Lexington, VA, Rockbridge County), Emily Knade (Easton, MD, St. Peter and Paul) and Miller each notched a goal and an assist on the day. Elizabeth Hartge (Easton, MD, Easton) collected four groundballs.
The women will host Sweet Briar in ODAC action on Saturday, April 16 to celebrate senior day. Game time is scheduled for noon.
