Syracuse University
Rutgers
Dove and Rowan Lead High-Flying Offense as Orange Advances to BIG EAST Championship Final
4/25/2008 8:47:31 PM | Women's Lacrosse
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sophomore Christina Dove scored a career-high seven goals and junior Katie Rowan tallied a game-high 10 points to lead the Syracuse women's lacrosse team to a 22-7 victory against Rutgers in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals in Notre Dame, Ind. With the win, the Orange extends its winning streak to a season-high eight and advances to the final game on Sunday where it will meet Georgetown. The tournament winner receives the BIG EAST's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse (15-2) set the BIG EAST Championship records for most goals in a half (11 in the second half) and in a game. In addition, Dove's seven goals and Rowan's 10 points and six assists are single-game tournament records. Dove also tied the single-game school record for goals scored.
"We finished the game strong and that was the key," head coach Gary Gait said. "We lost our focus a little in the first half. We got together at halftime and got re-focused and took care of what we needed to do. That was play our game and don't worry about everything else."
Rutgers (7-10) scored the first goal of the game when Nina Frankoski found the back of the net on an assist from Mallory Tornetta at the 28:40 mark. The Orange responded with four goals in a span of 2:05 to take the lead for good. Dove scored three goals during the run, including two straight. The four goals were part of a 9-1 Syracuse scoring outburst that gave the Orange a 9-2 lead with 9:05 remaining in the half. Rowan had two goals and two assists during the run, while Halley Quillinan had a pair of goals. Rutgers tallied the final three goals of the half, cutting Syracuse's lead to 9-5 at intermission.
The Orange scored the first three goals of the second half to extend its lead to 12-5 with 25:13 remaining. The teams traded goals before Brooke Cantwell found the back of the net with 15:41 left on the clock to cut SU's lead to 13-7. That would be the Scarlet Knights' final goal of the game as Syracuse scored nine straight goals to secure the victory and its place in the championship game.
Syracuse's balanced offensive attack included four goals from Rowan and three from Quillinan and Megan Mosenson. Kristin Brady and Elise Terracciano had two goals each, while Awehiyo Thomas had one goal. Cantwell and Michelle Poole each scored a pair of goals to lead Rutgers.
The Orange's defense forced 20 Scarlet Knight turnovers, while limiting Rutgers to just 19 shots compared to 30 for SU. SU freshman goalkeeper Liz Hogan made eight saves, while giving up just two goals in the second half. Quillinan recorded a career-high seven draw controls, helping the Orange to a 17-13 advantage, while both teams picked up 14 ground balls.
Syracuse, the tournament's No. 1 seed, goes for its second-straight BIG EAST Championship title on Sunday at noon. The game will be televised live on CBS College Sports. Fans can also listen to the live broadcast of the game on WJPZ 89.1FM in the Syracuse area and on Orange All-Access on suathletics.com.
