April 25, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. -Kathleen Typadis scored the game-tying goal with one-second remaining in regulation and then hit the game-winning goal in overtime as the No. 4 seed Massachusetts women's lacrosse team upset No. 1 seed Richmond 10-9 in overtime in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday at McGuirk Stadium. Richmond held an 8-4 halftime lead thanks to five goals from Lexie Marrocco who finished the game with six to tie an A-10 tournament game record. Marrocco's lone goal in the second half was all the scoring the Spiders could muster as the Minutewomen rallied back to knock off the three-time defending Atlantic 10 Champions.

UMass reaches the conference tournament finals for the first time since 2003 - the last time UMass defeated Richmond which was also a one-goal overtime game in the A-10 semifinals. The Minutewomen will face Temple in the Atlantic 10 Championship game on Sunday at 1 PM in McGuirk Stadium.

The Spiders jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Marrocco, two-time All-American Mandy Friend, and Allison Furstenburg each scored goals in the first seven minutes of play.

After a Kelsey Schreiner goal for UMass cut the lead to two, both teams scored back-to-back goals before Marrocco finished the first half with consecutive tallies for the 8-4 lead at intermission.

Schreiner added another tally seven minutes into the second half, but Marrocco was there to answer keeping the Richmond edge at four goals.

The final 17 minutes were all UMass as the Minutewomen scored the final four goals of the second half to force overtime. UMass was able to control the draw control circle holding a 16-to-7 edge for the game allowing the Minutewomen to rally back.

Kaytlin McCormick scored her second goal of the game in that run to pull UMass within one, 9-8 with 2:41 to play. After a series of turnovers for both teams, UMass was able to force Richmond into its 20th of the game with 15 seconds in regulation. Jackie Lyons was able to pass the ball ahead to Typadis who streaked into the Richmond scoring zone firing a shot that went wide. A foul was called on Richmond during the shot, however, rewarding Typadis with a free position shot with three seconds remaining on the clock which she was able to convert to tie the game.

Neither team was able to score in the first three-minute portion of overtime. UMass controlled all three draws in the extra period limiting Richmond's offense to just one shot which UMass keeper Krissy Anderson (5 saves) was able to save.

Typadis controlled the ball for UMass on an errant shot from Schreiner with 2:01 remaining in regulation as after the restart was able to curl around the crease firing a low angled shot past Richmond keeper Erica Marrocco for the game-winning goal. Richmond had one final crack at tying the game, but Lyons was able to cause her second turnover of overtime with three seconds remaining to preserve the lead.

Massachusetts held a 31-to-20 advantage in shots and a 16-to-7 edge in draw controls. The UMass midfield was also able to disrupt Richmond holding the Spiders to just 10-of-14 on clears.

Sunday's Championship game will be the third time in the 10-years of the Atlantic 10 Tournament that Temple and UMass have met in the final game. UMass defeated Temple 3-2 in overtime in 2000 - the last time the tournament came to Amherst. The most recent meeting was in 2003 - a 15-9 Temple win in Philadelphia.

----------

No. 2 Temple Defeats No. 3 Duquesne 14-10 Advancing to Sunday's Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Championship Game

AMHERST, Mass. - A nine goal first half and a five-goal performance from Berkley Summerlin lifted the No. 2 seed Temple Owls to a 14-10 win over No. 3 seed Duquesne (8-9) on Friday afternoon at McGuirk Stadium in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Semifinals. The Owls (12-5) will face No. 4 seed UMass, which won the first semifinal game over No. 1 seed Richmond, in the A-10 Tournament Championship game on Sunday afternoon at 1 PM at McGuirk Stadium.

Temple's Whitney Richards set a new league record for caused turnovers in a tournament game with six and was a major factor as the Owl defense held Duquesne to just five goals in each half. Duquesne's Meghan Frederick also tied a league record with five assists in a tournament game.

The Owls jumped out to a 3-0 lead just 5:16 into the first half on a goal from Summerlin and back-to-back goals from Richards. The Dukes responded with a goal of their own when Frederick fed Sarah Carson with a pass to cut the Temple lead to two.

After Temple extended their lead back to three, Wood netted her first goal of the game to make the game 4-2. The Owls added five goals before the end of the half to give themselves a 9-5 cushion at halftime.

Duquesne attempted to get back into the game, but Temple's dominated the Dukes in draw controls, and refuted any attempt by Duquesne to climb closer. Richards added two more goals with 15:46 to play in the second half for the hat-trick.

Summerlin capped off the Owl scoring with a goal at 21:45 of the second half. Wood added two goals near the end of the half to give herself a team-high four tallies on the day.

Statistically, the Owls outshot Duquesne 20-19, while the Dukes won the ground ball battle 15-14. Temple was 1-for-2 on free position shots, while Duquesne did not attempt any free position shots during the game.

Bridget McMullan got the start in goal for Temple, making six saves for the win. Caitlin Carducci started in goal for the Dukes, making three saves, while Liz Walker also saw time during the first half.