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Ward Scores Seven to Lead No. 5 UC-Santa Cruz Past No. 8 Penn 11-7 to Reach National Collegiate Club Semfinals
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Nila Ward (Sr., Santa Monica, Calif.) scored seven goals, including all three in the first period to stake the Banana Slugs to a lead they would not relinquish, to earn Player of the Game honors as No. 5 University of California-Santa Cruz built a six goal lead and held on for an 11-7 victory over No. 8 University of Pennsylvania in the National Collegiate Club quarterfinals at the University of Arizona.
The victory places UC-Santa Cruz into the semifinals against No. 1-ranked California Polytechnic State University at 6:20 p.m. this evening, while Penn will meet No. 2 University of California-Los Angeles at 8:40 p.m. with a slot in the fifth place game on the line.
UC-Santa Cruz, which entered the championship after claiming the Sierra Pacific Division title in the wake of being eliminated as a varsity sport at the university last year, ran out to a 7-1 lead in the second period and cruised to victory.
Ward was all the Banana Slugs needed in the first period to blow the doors open and start rolling to victory as she netted natural goals at 4:22 and 2:43 in addition to a five-meter penalty shot score at 3:45 to make it 3-0 after seven minutes of play.
The run continued to open the second period as Laura Rudolph (So., Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ward found the back of the cage at 6:05 and 5:09, respectively, with heaves to push the margin to 5-0.
Penn's Natasa Kordic (Sr., Sacramento, Calif.) put the Quakers on the board at the 3:18 mark, but Mollie Chadwick (Jr., Mission Beach, Calif.) and Danielle Muzzini (Jr., Concord, Calif.) contributed natural goals at 2:47 and 2:13 to give the Slugs a 7-1 lead. The Quakers closed the gap to five by halftime as Kordic connected on a line-drive shot which eluded UCSC goalie Rachel McCracken (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) with two seconds left in the first half to set the scoreboard at 7-2.
Penn and UC-Santa Cruz traded goals to open the third period as Winnie Eastwood (Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.) and Ward uncorked scoring shots at 4:28 and 2:59 to make it 8-3. Needing an offensive surge to climb back into the game, the Quakers turned to Kordic and Soleil Roberts (Gr., Yardley, Pa.) who registered even-strength (1:43) and man-up (00:53) goals to move Penn to within 8-5 with a period to play.
Needing to limit Penn's scoring chances over the final seven minutes of play, the Slugs found a way to hold on by putting up three goals down the stretch and allowing only two to take the four goal victory.
The key to the game was Santa Cruz's ability to stiffle Penn's man-up offense as the Quakers finished 2-for-14 on power-play situations, while the Banana Slugs cashed in on two-of-four chances with an extra player.
Between the pipes, both McCracken and Penn's Elizabeth Lawrence (Sr., New York, N.Y.) made nine saves.
Historically, Penn has a chance to continue a string of Top 10 finishes as the Quakers previously placed sixth (2007), fifth (2008) and fourth (2009) over the past three National Collegiate Club Championships.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| No. 5 University of California-Santa Cruz | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | -- | 11 |
| No. 8 University of Pennsylvania | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -- | 7 |
Penn Goals: Natasa Kordic (3); Winnie Eastwood (2); Soleil Roberts; Megan Calpin
UCSC Goals: Nila Ward (7); Danielle Muzzini; Laura Rudolph; Mollie Chadwick; Jenni Gunnell
Saves: Penn - Elizabeth Lawrence (9) ; UCSC - Rachel McCracken (9)
Exclusions: Penn - 4 ; UCSC -14
Advantage Opportunities: Penn - 2-for-14 ; UCSC - 1-for-4
Sprints: Penn - 2-for-4 ; UCSC - 2-for-4
