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Black Scores Six, But No. 5 UC-Santa Cruz Bests No. 17 Middlebury 17-7 in National Collegiate Club Opening Round
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Sara Black (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) scored six goals to earn Player of the Game honors, but No. 5-ranked UC-Santa Cruz received scoring from 10 players as the Banana Slugs handled No. 17 Middlebury College 17-7 in the opening round of the 2010 Women's National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Arizona.
For Middlebury, Laura Rudolph (So., Carlsbad, Calif.) and Jenni Gunnell (So., Davis, Calif.) led the way with hat-tricks, while Mollie Harary (So., Oxnard, Calif.), Nila Ward (Sr., Santa Monica, Calif.) and Kelly Gentry (Sr., Livermore, Calif.) chipped in pairs of scores to key the Banana Slugs past the Panthers and into the second round.
UC-Santa Cruz never trailed and built a 5-0 lead less than four minutes into the first period to take a nearly insurmountable advantage. Leading 6-1 after a period of play, the Banana Slugs saw their lead dwindle to 9-5 by halftime, but exploded by seven goals to run out to a 16-6 lead by the end of the third period.
The teams traded goals in the fourth period for the 10-goal margin of victory as UC-Santa Cruz advances to take on No. 8 University of Pennsylvania, a 6-4 victor over No. 17 Boston College in the first round, at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday, April 24 in the second round with a berth into the semifinals on the line. Middlebury will take on Boston College at 6:20 p.m. this evening in the consolation round.
In cage, Rachel McCracken (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Charlotte Nelson (Fr., Oxnard, Calif.) combined for seven saves in victory for UC-Santa Cruz, while Middlebury's Kristen LaPlante (Sr., Suffield, Conn.) recorded 10 stops.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| No. 17 Middlebury College | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | -- | 17 |
| No. 5 University of California-Santa Cruz | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | -- | 7 |
UCSC Goals: Laura Rudolph (3); Jenni Gunnell (3); Mollie Harary (2); Nila Ward (2); Kelly Gentry (2); Mollie Chadwick; Anya Viera; Val Lew; Daryan Namba; Meegan Justice
Middlebury Goals: Sara Black (6); Colleen Carroll
Saves: UCSC - Rachel McCracken (2), Charlotte Nelson (5) ; Middlebury - Kristen LaPlante (10)
Exclusions: UCSC - 6 ; Middlebury - 1
Advantage Opportunities: UCSC - 1-for-1 ; Middlebury - 0-for-6
Sprints: UCSC - 4-for-4 ; Middlebury- 0-for-4
