Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Senior attacker Nicole Haines swatted a loose ball into the cage with 1:41 remaining to lift No. 6 West Chester to a wild 19-18 victory over No. 8 Gannon in the semifinals of the 2010 PSAC Women’s Lacrosse Championships on a sunny and hot Friday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field.
The win advances West Chester (17-0) to the conference championship game for the ninth consecutive season where the Golden Rams will meet Lock Haven (15-1) in a rematch of last year’s final. West Chester and Lock Haven have played for the PSAC crown in each of the last four campaigns. The Rams will be looking for their 21st conference title on Saturday.
Lock Haven defeated Bloomsburg, 20-5, in the other PSAC semifinal at Vonnie Gros Field on Friday afternoon.
Gannon took its first lead of the contest (15-14) with 12:47 left on a Taryn Millerd’s fifth goal of the game. Rachel DerCola and Kayla Nelson each tallied during the next five minutes to put the visitor’s up by three, 17-14. DerCola assisted on Nelson’s marker.
After Nelson’s goal at the 7:05 point, Gannon head coach Steve Wagner called a timeout. West Chester used the time to regroup and finished the game on a 5-1 run over the final six minutes to squeeze out the victory.
Nicole Pyle and Claire Grimwood scored 17 seconds apart shortly after the breather to pull the Rams within one. Haines then knotted things up with 3:53 to go at 17-apiece.
Gannon’s Caitlin Fisher deposited a shot by West Chester goalkeeper MacKenzie O’Keefe with 2:31 left to put the Golden Knights on top once again, 18-17. However, Grimwood took the draw control off the ensuing faceoff and charged down field, throwing her shot past Gannon’s keeper Acacia Cook to quickly even things up once again.
Just 40 seconds later, Pyle took a shot that Cook saved. But, the rebound fell to the turf. In the mad scramble for possession, Haines swung her stick at the ball and knocked it past Cook for the game-winner.
Haines and Pyle each finished with four goals on the afternoon. Grimwood tallied a game-high six goals and posted eight points in the win. Gabrielle Stitz scored a pair of goals while Shannon Hayes, Theresa Giunta and Lauren Glassey each registered a tally as well. Hayes added two assists for a three-point afternoon.
Hayes secured eight draw controls while Katy Crouse and Giunta each recorded four DC’s for the Golden Rams. Crouse contributed three ground balls and three caused turnovers as well.
West Chester opened the game with a 6-0 run over the first five minutes of action, taking advantage of Gannon’s zone defense. Grimwood played a part in five of those markers, scoring three herself.
From there Gannon switched to a man-to-man defense, following a timeout, and awakened offensively outscoring West Chester 10-5 over the final 20 minutes of the half.
Mary Eshenour fueled the explosion with four of her five goals on the day. Jess Fugate scored three goals as well for the Knights. That spurt drew Gannon within one (11-10) at halftime.
Nelson finished with two goals for Gannon while Sarag Gryzbinski tallied the only other marker for the eighth-ranked Knights.
Cook made 12 saves in goal for Gannon. O’Keefe registered eight saves for West Chester.
