May 9, 2007
DENVER, Colo. -- The Navy women's lacrosse team got off to a fast start and breezed past Oregon, 22-7, in the opening round of the 2007 USL WDIA National Championship, hosted by the University of Denver. The Mids, seeded second in the tournament, improve to 16-4 with the victory, and will battle seventh-seeded Colorado, who defeated the No. 10 seed, UCLA.
"It was important for us to get off to a good start and we really did that today," said Navy head coach Cindy Timchal. "We played well from the start and didn't really allow them (Oregon) anything offensively. It was good to play a lot of bodies as well, because it will keep us fresh as we move on this tournament. I was proud of our effort and our offense is really clicking right now."
Navy, one of two teams to compete in all seven USL WDIA tournaments along with six-time defending champion Cal Poly, bolted out to a 13-2 halftime lead and cruised in the second half for the 22-7 decision. The 22 goals are tied for the second most ever scored in the tournament, behind just the 23 scored by Navy against Michigan State in the 2001 tournament. Leading the charge for the Mids was freshman Erin Rawlick with 11 points (7 g, 4 a). It marked the fourth straight game that Rawlick has scored at least 10 points and she now has 111 points on a team-best 77 goals with 34 assists. Rawlick's 11 points were the second most ever in a USL WDIA national tournament game behind Navy's Tiffany Hill (15 pts. vs. Michigan State in 2001). Her seven goals tied for the third most in tournament history.
Senior Elise Chapdelaine added six points (5 g, 1 a). Amanda Towey contributed with six points (4 g, 2 a) and Mary Ruttum chipped in with four points (2 g, 2 a). Sarah Bushong (1 g, 1 a), Jaime Howe (1 a) and Megan Silk (1 g) rounded out Navy's attack.
Natalie Blandon earned the win in goal, stopping four shots in just over 35 minutes of action. Vanessa Nieves added two saves in about 15 minutes of action and Ellyn Creasey closed out the game in goal.
The Mids and Buffaloes will square off on Thursday morning at 10:00 am (MST) in the quarterfinals. Navy is looking for its first semifinals appearance since the 2003 tournament.
# GO NAVY #
