September 23, 2003
Shorewomen Knock Off No. 1 Profs
WC Downs Defending Champs in Strokes

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Senior defender Erin Thomas (Newport News, VA/Denbigh) converted the final stroke of the game-deciding strokeoff to lift the Washington College field hockey team to a 2-1 home upset over the No. 1 ranked team in Division III and the defending NCAA Division III Champions, the Rowan University Profs, this afternoon in Chestertown.

After 70 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute sudden-victory overtime periods, the Shorewomen (4-2) and Profs (4-1) were deadlocked at 1-1. The strokeoff began with Rowan's Beth Raleigh converting the first stroke. WC junior attack Laura Scimeca (Cream Ridge, NJ/Allentown) then knocked in the Shorewomen's first attempt to tie the strokeoff at 1-1. The next three players for each team failed to convert and the game came down to the final stroke for each team. Rowan's Jess Wadleigh failed to knock her attempt in for the Profs, paving the way for Thomas to beat Rowan goalie Christine Buteas high for the game-winning stroke.

Earlier in the game, the Shorewomen took the lead, 1-0, with 4:16 left in the first half. Freshman midfielder Ally Simons (Camp Hill, PA/Cumberland Valley) sent the ball inside the circle, where sophomore midfielder Bonnie Loder (West Chester, PA/West Chester) redirected the ball to Scimeca. Scimeca then knocked the ball in from the right side for her ninth goal of the season.

Rowan tied things up at 1-1 with 26:11 remaining in the second half when Becky Peterson scored off an assist from Raleigh.

While neither team scored in either overtime, Peterson twice came close to giving the Profs the win in the second extra period only to have a WC player knock the ball away for a defensive save. Scimeca batted away the first of those two shots, with 12:25 remaining in the period and freshman defender Katie Madron (Rising Sun, MD/Rising Sun) saved the second one with 6:52 left.

WC senior goalie Zina Hense (Lewes, DE/Cape Henlopen) made a career-high 20 saves in the victory, helping to offset a furious offensive effort by Rowan in the second half and the two overtimes. Rowan held a 30-9 advantage in shots and a 30-8 advantage in penalty corners in the game. In the second half and the two overtimes combined, those numbers were even more in the Profs' favor as they held a 25-2 advantage in shots and a 25-4 advantage in corners.

The win was the first-ever victory for the Shorewomen, who are in their 20th varsity season, over a team ranked No. 1. It was also the first time that a game involving Washington College has been decided by strokes since 1995 when the Shorewomen opened the season on September 6th with a 3-2 win in strokes over Wesley College.

The Shorewomen return to action Saturday when they host 14th-ranked Ursinus in a Centennial Conference game at 1:00 p.m.

Box Score

Rowan 0-1-0-0(1)---1
Washington College 1-0-0-0(2)---2

Scoring (Assist)
1st H - 4:16 WC - Laura Scimeca (Bonnie Loder)
2nd H - 10:30 RU - Becky Peterson (Beth Raleigh)
WC Wins Strokeoff, 2-1 (see below)

Strokeoff
Beth Raleigh (RU) - good
Laura Scimeca (WC) - good
Jackie Massara (RU) - no good
Ally Simons (WC) - no good
Michelle Thornton (RU) - no good
Katie Madron (WC) - no good
Britney Ewan (RU) - no good
Missy Tine (WC) - no good
Jess Wadleigh (RU) - no good
Erin Thomas (WC) - good
WC Wins Strokeoff, 2-1

Washington Saves - Zina Hense 20 (1 GA/100:00)
Rowan Saves - Christine Buteas 5 (1 GA/100:00)

Shots - RU 30, WC 9
Penalty Corners - RU 30, WC 8
Defensive Saves - RU 0, WC 3 (Laura Scimeca 1, Katie Madron 1, Missy Tine 1)