May 6, 2010

Box Score

COLUMBUS, OH - The sixth-seeded Florida Gators opened the game on a 9-0 and did not look back in a 14-3 win over third-seeded Johns Hopkins in the 2010 ALC Quarterfinals Thursday afternoon in Columbus. The Blue Jays end their season at 10-7 overall, doubling their win total from a season ago. The Gators meanwhile, in their first varsity season, improve to 10-7 and advance to the ALC Semifinals.

Caroline Cochran scored the game's first goal just over five minutes in off a left alley dodge to gete things going. Just 24 seconds later, Ashley Bruns, the 2010 ALC Rookie of the Year, scored after rolling the crease and firing a shot over the shoulder of freshman Cosette Larash (Crownsville, MD/Archbishop Spalding). Kitty Cullens made it a 3-0 game in favor of Florida with 6:40 gone in the game, scoring the first of her six on the day. Cullen would score four of her six in the 9-0 run.

Sophomore Candace Rossi (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) finally got Hopkins on the board with her team-leading 35th goal of the season with 3:53 to play in the first half. Goal-line extended, Rossi got a step on her defender and cut to the cage, slipping a low shot pat Cara Canington to extend her point-scoring streak to 11 games. Jamie Reeg got that one back for the Gators a she scored off a loose ball scramble six-meters from the cage with just 24 seconds on the clock to give Florida a 10-1 lead at the break.

Coming out of the half, Cullen scored back-to-back goals in the opening 10 minutes to spot Florida an 11-goal lead. Caroline Chesterman and Ashley Bruns added goals over the next 15 minutes to push the lead to 14-1. Seniors Danielle Ensley (Severna Park, MD/Severa Park) and Sam Schrum (Pasadena, MD/St. Mary's) would each score in the game's final two minutes to account for the 14-3 final. Schrum, behind the cage, found Ensley open on a nice pass and Ensley banged it home for her first of the season with 1:41 to play. Schrum then closed out her career with an unassisted goal with 14 ticks on the clock.

Schrum led the Blue Jays with two points on the day, while Rossi and Ensley each tallied a point. Larash posted six saves in the first half for Hopkins, while senior Lizzie O'Ferrall (Baltimore, MD/Mount De Sales) came on in the second and was not credited with a save. Cullen led the Gators and all scorers on the day with six goals. Bruns (3g), Reeg (2g), Chesterman (2g) and Janine Hillier (2a) also had multi-point games for Florida. Canington finished with 14 saves for the Gators while allowing just one goal. Mikey Meagher came on in relief with 2:26 to play and did not make a save while allowing two goals.

The loss ends the careers of Schrum, Ensley, O'Ferrall, Brett Bathras (Severna Park, MD/Severn), Kim Dubansky (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh), Paige Ibello (Cockeysville, MD/Maryvale Prep), Lizzie Rupp (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes), Erin Russell (Annapolis, MD/Severn), Angela Hughes (Manchester, MD/North Carroll) and Abby Duggan (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles).