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No. 15 Arizona Tops No. 16 Texas A&M 9-5 in Consolation Round of National Collegiate Club Championship
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Ashley Gucinski (Gr., Naperville, Ill.) scored five times, including four in the first half, to lead No. 15 University of Arizona to a 9-5 victory over No. 16 Texas A&M University in the consolation round of the 2010 Women's National Collegiate Club Championship at Arizona.
The victory places Arizona into a Saturday, April 24 game at 4:00 p.m. against No. 17 Middlebury College for a berth to the ninth place game, while Texas A&M will meet No. 17 Boston College at 1:40 p.m. with a spot in the 13th place contest at stake.
Tied 2-2 after the first period, the Wildcats roared out to a three-goal lead by halftime behind back-to-back tallies by the ambidextrous Gucinski at 6:14 and 3:50 before Rachel Rodia (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.) popped a shot past A&M netminder Erin Kasparek (Jr., Houston, Texas) for a 5-2 advantage at the break.
Arizona's scoring run continued into the third period as Gucinski, Grace Portley (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) and Katie Parissenti (Fr., Fremont, Calif.) scored at the 4:43, 3:51 and 2:45 marks, respectively, to close out an 8-0 stretch dating back to a 2-0 Aggies lead with 5:48 left in the first period.
The six goal lead was too much for Texas A&M to overcome as the Aggies trailed 9-3 at the end of the third period before natural and man-up goals by Stephanie Payne (Gr., Houston, Texas) at the 4:08 and 2:07 marks, respectively, set the final score and pulled the Aggies to within four goals for the first time since the 4:43 mark of the third period.
Overall, the margin of victory could have been much larger as Arizona went 0-for-7 on man-up chances, while Texas A&M cashed in on two-of-four opportunities.
In cage, Lindsay Morrison (Gr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Ashley Francis (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) combined for 11 Wildcats' saves, while Kasparek turned aside seven scoring tries for the Aggies.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| No. 16 Texas A&M University | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -- | 5 |
| No. 15 University of Arizona | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | -- | 9 |
Arizona Goals: Ashley Gucinski (5); Jennifer Shah; Grace Portley; Rachel Rodia; Katie Parissenti
Texas A&M Goals: Rachel Edwards (2); Stephanie Payne (2); Laura Peterson
Saves: Arizona - Lindsay Morrison (6), Ashley Francis (5) ; Texas A&M - Erin Kasparek (7)
Exclusions: Arizona - 4 ; Texas A&M - 7
Advantage Opportunities: Arizona - 0-for-7 ; Texas A&M - 2-for-4
Sprints: Arizona - 2-for-4 ; Texas A&M - 2-for-4
