SPARTANBURG, S.C. (April 2, 2010) - Freshman Sarah Ann
Showell netted a career and game-high six goals, and added an
assist, as the Tars ran past the Converse College Valkyries 26-10
on Friday afternoon in Spartanburg, S.C.
With seven different players scoring goals for Rollins (6-4),
and another seven registering assists on the afternoon, the Tars
made easy work of Converse, who drops to 4-8 on the season.
Behind Showell, Marissa Giannerini placed
five shots between the pipes for Rollins, with Mallory
Surpless and Erica
Pagliarulo notching four apiece. Sophie
Townsend earned a career best in goals as she walked away from
the game with her first hat trick.
Both Katy Tyszko and Tori Snow
completed the day with two goals each to round out the scoring for
the Tars as they picked up another victory over an in-region
opponent. Junior Liz Connelly led the game
with three assists, while Tyszko registered two of her own for a
total of four points on the day.
Suzanne Gainey headed up a
stingy defensive unit that allowed their opponents only 16 shots
and 13 shots on goal all contest. Gainey led the contest with five
ground balls and four of Rollins' 10 total caused turnovers, and
played a large role in holding the Valkyries back on half of their
clear efforts as Converse found success on only 9-of-18 attempts in
comparison to the Tars' 12-for-14 final clear count.
Rollins stifled the Valkyries in draw controls, winning 28 of 38
total thanks in large part to midfielder Tori Snow, who came up
with a game-best eight on the afternoon. Supported by Connelly who
won four draws and earned four ground balls, as well as Pagliarulo
who came up with four key ground balls and three draw controls, the
Tars were able to make easy work of their opponent as they led the
game in ground balls 28-19, as well as shots 54-16.
After an early goal from Converse's Lacy Bevilacqua almost two
minutes into the game gave CC the initial advantage, Rollins jumped
out to a two-goal lead with a quick goal from Townsend and two more
from Showell to pull ahead 3-1 with 21:40 before the half.
The Valkyries closed the gap to one with a goal from Bridget
Dullea on a free position shot, but Giannerini and Tyszko teamed up
just seconds later to pull Rollins back to a two-goal advantage
with 18:07 on the clock.
Converse answered back in a big way two minutes later, with a
goal from Kayla Foster, and another one from Bevilacqua 41 seconds
later to knot the score at 4-4 with 16:17 remaining before
halftime.
The two teams traded blows, and found themselves with a score of
5-5 with 14 minutes remaining in the first half, but Rollins turned
on the afterburners and closed out the period out-scoring Converse
11-1 as the first half wound down, including three goals from
Surpless and Giannerini.
Thanks to Rollins' late first half run, the Tars entered into
the break with a score of 16-6.
The Valkyries opened the second half with a four-goal streak,
pulling to within four goals of the Tars with a score of 16-10 and
24:59 remaining in regulation. But the Tars held their opponent
silent for the remainder of the game, and went on to score 10
unanswered goals to close out the contest with a final score of
26-10.
Converse goalie Molly Donaghue made 16 saves after seeing a
total of 54 shots and 42 shots on goal. Rollins goalie Alyssa
Emens set aside three shots on the afternoon.
Rollins returns to action on Saturday, April 3, when they take
on Lees McRae College on the campus of Converse. Game time against
the Bobcats is slated for noon at Hayden Abney Field. Fans will be
able to catch all of the action live on the Tars Sports Network at
RolliinsSports.com.
