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Gordon Scores Three as No. 6 Oregon Stops No. 7 Utah 6-1 for Berth in National Collegiate Club Semifinals
DAVIS, Calif. -- Beth Gordon (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) registered a hat-trick to account for half of her team's scoring as No. 6 University of Oregon upended No. 7 University of Utah 6-1 to advance to the semifinals of the 2009 National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of California-Davis.
Oregon will face either No. 5 UC-Davis or No. 2 University of Notre Dame this evening (Saturday, May 2) at 9:50 p.m. for a return bid to the national championship game. Last year, the Ducks fell to Cal Poly State University 7-6 OT at Oregon for the 2008 National Championship.
The game was nip-tuck throughout the first half as Oregon's Catilin Hermann (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) rattled the cage with an exclusion goal 49 seconds into the contest for a 1-0 Ducks' lead in the first period.
Utah tied the game 15 seconds into the second period as Ruby Alman (Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah) lofted a rising shot from near half-tank which found the back of the cage at the 6:45 mark. Oregon retook the lead with 2:16 left in the first half as Hilary Wilcox (Fr., Portland, Ore.) released a five-meter penalty shot which eluded Utah netminder Sarah Close (Sr., Salt Lake City, Utah) to put the Ducks ahead 2-1 at halftime.
Gordon then took over the game finishing crossing passes from Katie Peront (So., Beaverton, Ore.) with 2:17 and 40 seconds left in the third period to push the advantage to 4-1. She completed her hat-trick 1:35 into the fourth period off another pass from Peront to make it 5-1 with 5:25 to play in regulation.
Haley Vigeland (Fr., Salem, Ore.) tacked on a final insurance goal at the 2:12 mark courtesy an outside shot as the Ducks advance to their second straight "Final Four" berth at the National Collegiate Club Championship.
In cage, Jessica Kragt (Jr., Portland, Ore.) stopped eight shots for the Green and Gold, while Close blocked down three shots for Utah.
The Utes will continue the tournament at 7:30 p.m. tonight against either UC-Davis or Notre Dame with a berth in the fifth place game on the line.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| No. 7 University of Utah | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| No. 6 University of Oregon | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Oregon Goals: Beth Gordon (3); Caitlin Hermann; Haley Vigeland; Hilary Wilcox
Utah Goals: Ruby Alman
Saves: Oregon - Jessica Kragt (8) ; Utah - Sarah Close (3)
Ejections: Oregon - 1 ; Utah -3
Sprints: Oregon - 1 (Mandy Dunlop - 2nd) ; Utah - 3 (Lauren Roth - 1st, 3rd; Mandy Dunlop - 4th)
