May 6, 2006

Box Score

EUGENE, Ore. - Freshman attacker Patrice Clark scored her third straight hat trick and sophomore goalkeeper Hilary Harkins collected 14 saves to lead UC Davis to a 10-8 win over Saint Mary's in the consolation game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's lacrosse tournament at Oregon's Papé Field Saturday.

The Aggies end their season with a 9-9 record. The Gaels finish out at 5-11.

UC Davis led 6-3 in the first half, helped a run of four answered goals that began with Clark's free-position conversion in the 10th minute. Katie McGovern assisted Megan O'Connor with 91 seconds remaining in the half, then Lindsay Messina scored on an unassisted drive just 22 seconds later to put the Aggies ahead by three.

The Gaels charged out of the gates in the second half as Chloe Dee assisted Dana Elfvin at 36:15, then Molly Wagner at 39:53 to cut the lead to 6-5. Clark hit her third goal at the 42:06 mark to bump UC Davis' lead back up to two goals. However, SMC closed the gap back to a single goal on Kim Reny's successful eight-meter attempt, then tied the game with 10:41 remaining on a second Elfvin goal.

UC Davis regained the lead soon after on an unassisted goal by junior Jen Sanderson. Then Alannah Taylor figured on two more goals - assisting Messina at the 52:09 mark, then scoring one of her own with less than three minutes left. Wagner hit her second goal to push Saint Mary's to within two with 2:11 left, but the Aggies held on for the victory.

Sanderson also enjoyed a strong game defensively, earning four caused turnovers. O'Connor picked up two more draw controls, finishing the year with a school-record 56 for the season. Furthermore, the game represented career finales for seniors Tiffany Lee and Nicole Frantz.

Saturday's game was marked by its physical play. Besides the 60 combined fouls, UC Davis was charged with a total of five cards (four yellow, one red) while Saint Mary's took four yellows.

Oregon and Denver will square off in the first of Saturday's two tournament semifinals, then California takes on Stanford in the nightcap. This is the third year that the MPSF has sponsored a championship for women's lacrosse.

GOALS - UC Davis: Patrice Clark 3, Lindsay Messina 2, Megan O'Connor 1, Alannah Taylor 1, Jessica Luckhardt 1, Jen Sanderson 1, Alden Monger 1. SMC: Molly Wagner 2, Dana Elfvin 2, Chloe Dee 1, Jen Utley 1, Kim Reny 1, P.J. Hainley 1.

ASSISTS - UC Davis: Katie McGovern 1, Megan O'Connor 1, Alannah Taylor 1. SMC: Chloe Dee 2, Molly Wagner 2, Jen Utley 1.

GOALIES - UC Davis: Hilary Harkins 14 saves, 8 goals against (60:00). SMC: Hilary Gardner 7 saves, 4 goals against (18:13); Sara Jo Rodriguez, 0 saves, 6 goals against (41:47).