Alvernia
Defeats LC Field Hockey 2-1 in NCAA Tournament
LYNCHBURG, VA – Junior Megan Novogratz scored the game-winning goal at 48:21
Wednesday as the visiting Alvernia College (PA) field hockey team defeated
Lynchburg College 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship
Tournament.
The Hornets opened an early 1-0 lead as Samantha
Howard (
Fairfax
Station, VA/W.T. Woodson) assisted Andrea
Fleming (
Milford
,
DE
/
Milford
) at 9:25 of the first half and LC took the 1-0 lead into
intermission. Amber Landis put the Crusaders on the board at 40:09 of the second
half on a rebound from a Jesse Titus shot. Following a Alvernia corner,
Novogratz corralled the loose ball and found the back of the cage for the
game-winner. The Hornets had several chances to even the score in the final
minutes but the Alvernia defense held firm.
“I think the game turned after
Lynchburg
scored its first goal,” said Novogratz, whose game-winning tally was the 20th
of the season. “It really woke us up and we managed to turn on the
intensity.”
Lynchburg
held a 15-12 edge in total shots, while each team had five shots on goal and 10
penalty corners. Alvernia goalie Carey Manzolillo made four stops and
Lynchburg
goalie Elizabeth Foskey made three saves.
The Crusaders will advance into the tournament’s second round on Friday, to
face regional host
Messiah
College
on Friday at 10 a.m. “We really have nothing to lose at this point,” said
Novogratz. “We need to maintain this intensity into the weekend.”
“This program had 10 players seven years ago, and we have slowly worked our
way up to this point,” said Alvernia coach Laura Gingrich. “We have improved
every year and we made the most of our first NCAA Tournament berth by playing a
good game today. It will be a great challenge to face Messiah on Friday.”
.
Lynchburg
ends its 2005 season at 15-7, after starting the season slowly - but rallied to
win its next 13 games. “I am so proud of how our girls battled adversity this
year and bounced back,” said Hornet head coach Enza Steele. “We didn’t get
into a good flow both offensively and defensively at the same time today, but a
lot of credit goes to Alvernia – they played a very good game.”
