May 10, 2007

DENVER, Colo. -- The Navy women's lacrosse team held off a spirited Colorado rally to advance to Friday's semifinals of the USL WDIA national tournament with a 15-14 decision over the Buffaloes. The Mids advance to the semifinals for the first time since the 2003 tournament and will battle third-seeded UC Santa Barbara. Navy improves to 17-4 with the victory.

"We looked a little tired and ragged today," said Navy head coach Cindy Timchal. "We didn't have the same energy we had yesterday and had a tough time stopping them. We got up on them in the second half, but their speed really hurt us and fueled their comeback. But it's good to get a win and move on. We'll come out tomorrow with more energy."

Navy, one of two teams to compete in all seven USL WDIA tournaments along with six-time defending champion Cal Poly, fell behind early 2-1, but rallied to tie the game at halftime at 7-7. After surging ahead 15-12 with seven minutes left, the Mids tried to run out the clock. However, the Buffaloes forced a turnover and scored, trimming the margin to 15-13. Colorado then won the next draw control and scored again to cut the Navy lead to 15-14. The Mids then won the next draw control and were able to run out the last two minutes for the 15-14 victory. The 14 goals allowed were the most allowed by Navy against a club team this year. Nonetheless, Navy has outscored its two opponents, 37-21, in two games at the tournament.

"Our offense played pretty well again and we needed everything we got from it," said Timchal. "Our defense was on its heels today and we need to come out and be aggressive on Friday."

Junior Amanda Towey led the Mids with six points (3 g, 3 a), giving her 122 (69 g, 53 a) points for the season. Freshman Erin Rawlick tallied five goals to give her 17 points (13 g, 4 a) for the tournament. She had a 12-point (8 g, 4 a) effort in Wednesday's 22-7 win over Oregon, and now has 117 points (83 g, 34 a) on the season. Freshman Mary Ruttum also scored five points (4 g, 1 a) and is on the verge of joining Towey and Rawlick with 100 points, as she has 89 points (59 g, 30 a). Senior co-captain Elise Chapdelaine rounded out Navy's scoring with four points (3 g, 1 a). In goal for Navy, Natalie Blandon stopped seven shots.

Navy's opponent in the semifinals, third-seeded UC Santa Barbara, knocked off Northeastern (14-7) in the first round, before defeating Brigham Young, 16-10, in the quarterfinals. Action will get underway at 10:00 am (MST) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver.

# GO NAVY #