WEST PALM BEACH, FL-Curry College scored four unanswered goals midway through the second half to break away from a 14-14 tie en route to an 18-16 victory over The University of Scranton Wednesday.
Senior attacker Ashley Hansbury (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) led the Colonels, now 3-1, with seven goals, senior midfielder Rachel Robichaud (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) added five, and sophomore attacker Jessie Koffman (Andover, Mass./Andover) chipped in three.
Curry, which held a 25-10 advantage in draw controls and converted 9 of 14 free-position shots into goals, also received two goals and an assist from junior attacker Elissa Bulgatz (North Brook, Ill./Glenbrook North).
Scranton, which has lost three straight and its last two by a combined total of three goals, was led by junior defender Katie Slade (Buckingham, Pa./Central Bucks East) and junior attacker Caroline Pryor (Robbinsville, N.J./Notre Dame) with four goals apiece and first-year midfielder Jilliana DePaolera (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) finished with three goals and two assists.
After DePaolera scored back-to-back goals within a 1:20 span to tie the game for the sixth and final time, the Colonels started their game-winning run with an own goal at the 46:38 mark, followed by the successful conversation of free-position shots by Bulgatz and Hansbury at the 47:43 and 48:28, respectively. Robichaud closed out the run with an unassisted goal two minutes later.
Scranton closed out the scoring in the final 10 minutes on goals by Pryor and first-year attacker Shannon Howe (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River).
Slade scored three goals in the final eight minutes of the first half as the Royals fought back from an early 5-2 deficit to take a 9-8 lead by intermission. Scranton extended its lead to 10-8 less than two minutes into the second half on a goal by DePaolera on a play setup by first-year attacker Deanna Giorno (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South), who finished with a game-high four assists.
The Colonels took advantage of the foul-prone Royals in the second half, scoring seven of their 10 goals in the final 30 minutes of play on free-position shot opportunities.
Curry junior goalie Maria Lynch (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) finished with 11 saves and Scranton's Cassie Murphy (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) and Kathleen Smart (Hatboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood) combined to stop 11 shots.
The Royals will take on Smith College (Mass.) on Thursday, March 18, in West Palm Beach, Florida, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The Colonels travel to Regis College on Saturday, March 20 for a 3:00 p.m. game start.
(Courtesy of Scranton Sports Information)