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No. 14 Hartwick Stymies Harvard 16-3 in Eastern Championship Opening Game
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The No. 14-nationally ranked Hartwick College Hawks opened their quest for the program's fourth Eastern Championship in convincing fashion overpowering No. 8 seed Harvard University 16-3 in the opening game in the first round of the 2009 Eastern Championship hosted by the Crimson at Blodgett Natatorium.
Courtesy the win, Hartwick (27-11) advances to a 4:00 p.m. face-off on Saturday, April 25 in the tournament semifinals against the winner of another first round game between No. 16 Indiana University and No. 19 Brown University. Harvard (11-15) will continue the tournament at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday versus the loser of the Brown-Indiana game with a chance at the fifth place game at stake.
Hartwick wasted little time in staking their claim of being the dominant team in the league as two-time All-America selection Kirsten Hudson (Jr., Wellington, New Zealand/Sacred Heart) accepted a pass from Allyssa Analytis (Fr., Montreal, Quebec/John Abbott College), turned her defender and uncorked a shot on an exclusion-chance which found the back of the cage for a 1-0 lead 1:32 into the game at the 5:28 mark. Analytis added to the scoring 102 seconds later at the 3:46 mark as she backhanded a shot which sailed up-and-over the shoulder of Harvard goalie Nicola Perlman (Stanford, Calif./Castilleja) to give Hartwick a quick 2-0 lead.
The margin continued to expand in the first period as Jessica McKee (So., Tustin, Calif./Laguna Beach) grabbed a long pass from goalie Jessica Dorman (So., Auckland, New Zealand/Diocesan) and out-sprinted the Harvard defense for a one-one-one chance with Perlman. Rather than unleashing a quick shot, McKee pumped six times before floating a shot over over the right shoulder of Perlman to push the Hawks' advantage to 3-0 with 2:10 remaining in the first period.
McKee struck again 42 seconds later thanks to Hudson who broke down the middle of the Harvard defense in an apparent drive to the cage before flipping the ball back to an undefended McKee who buried the shot for a 4-0 lead.
Hartwick continued to pour it on to open the second period as Hudson and Sian Ellis-Tewhiu (Fr. Wellington, New Zealand/Queen Margaret College) found twine at 1:47 and 1:24 on man-down and even-strength chances, respectively.
Harvard broke the ice with 12 seconds left in the first half as Devan Kennifer (Fr. Monterey, Calif./Santa Catalina) finished a pass from Shannon Purcell (Fr. Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) to pull the Crimson to within 6-1.
However, the Hartwick offense, combined with a stiffling 14-save defensive gem by Dorman, kept Harvard in check the majority of the second half as the Hawks pulled away with five goals in both the third and fourth periods to take the 13-goal victory.
Overall, Ellis-Tewhiu led the way for the Blue and White with five goals, while Hudson chipped in four, McKee tacked on a pair and five other Hartwick players tallied single markers.
Kennifer, Monica Zdrojewski (Fr. Irvine, Calif./Dana Hills) and Kelly Peeler (Jr. Westfield, N.J./Pingry School) netted the Crimson goals.
On defense, Dorman faced 22 shots, including 17 on goal, while Perlman blocked down three of 19 shots-on-goal and 27 overall.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| No. 1 Seed (#14) Hartwick College | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| No. 8 Seed Harvard University | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Harvard Goals: Devan Kennifer; Monica Zdrojewski; Kelly
Peeler
Hartwick Goals:
Sian Ellis-Tewhiu (5); Kirsten Hudson (4); Jessica McKee (2); Lisa
Bass; Adrienne Holosko; Anna Analytis; Barbara Amaro; Alyson
Cannone
Harvard Assists:
None
Hartwick Assists: Kirsten Hudson; Christina Evans; Allyssa Analytis
Saves: Harvard - Nicola Perlman (3) ; Hartwick - Jessica Dorman (14)
Ejections: Harvard - 6 ; Hartwick - 8
Sprints: Harvard - 1 (Lizzie Abbott, 2nd) ; Hartwick - Kirsten Hudson (1, 1st), Sian Ellis-Tewhiu (2, 3rd & 4th)
Christina Evans looks to pass against Harvard
