Ewing NJ -- Senior Karen Doane (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) scored with 3.4 seconds left on a free-position shot to send The College of New Jersey to the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Semifinals as the Lions edged Union College (NY) 9-8 on Sunday at TCNJ's Soccer Complex.

Doane drew a foul inside the eight-meter arc and then cashed in on the opportunity putting the Lions (17-1) in the national semifinals on Saturday, May 17 at 2:30 p.m. against defending NCAA champion Franklin & Marshall. That game is set for Donald J. Kerr Stadium in Salem, Va. The Dipolmats advanced with a 16-9 win over Amherst College.

This marks the 23rd time in the 24 years of the tournament the Lions have advanced to the semifinals. Union capped its successful campaign with a record 15-4, with those wins matching the most in program history.

Leading up to Doane's heroics, TCNJ held a 6-3 lead early in the second half before the Dutchwomen got on an offensive roll. Union reeled off four straight goals with Chelsea Charlette (South Hadley, MA/South Hadley) scoring twice, with Keri Messa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Hotchkiss School) and Kristin Joyce (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) netting the others. That run put the visitors in front 7-6.

The Lions battled back to reclaim the lead as Toni-Anne Cavallo (Cedar Grove, NJ/West Essex) and Rachel Gordon (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) each scored off of free-position attempts. Those goals put TCNJ in front 8-7 with 10:59 remaining.

TCNJ then won the draw control and ate up a huge chunk of the clock before the Dutchwomen gained possession on big caused turnover by Melissa Hine (South Hadley, MA/South Hadley). Once on TCNJ's half of the field, they knotted the score on a goal by Allie Couzzo (Norfolk, MA/King Phillip Regional) with 2:59 left on the clock.

In the first half was just as close as no team leading by more than a goal and seven different players scoring with Cavallo putting the hosts in front 4-3 at the half scoring with 2:24 remaining before the break.

Doane, Cavallo and Katie Reuther (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) each scored twice for the Lions as they scored eight of their nine goals on free-position attempts. Charlette led the Dutchwomen with three goals and Joyce and Cuozzo each had a pair. Lion senior Caitlin Gregory (Winslow, NJ/Eastern) earned her career-best 17th win of the season making six saves. For Union, freshman Cat Ruggiero (Huntington, NJ/Huntington) also made six stops.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union College.......  3  5 -  8
The College of NJ...  4  5 -  9

Union College SCORING:
GOALS: Chelsea Charette 3; Kristin Joyce 2; Allie Cuozzo 2; Keri Messa 1.
ASSISTS: Keri Messa 1.

The College of NJ SCORING:
GOALS: Toni-Anne Cavallo 2; Karen Doane 2; Katie Reuther 2; Leigh Mitchell 1; Alison Jaeger 1; Rachel Gordon 1.
ASSISTS: None.

Union College GROUND BALLS: Cat Ruggiero 3; Caitlin Cuozzo 1; Melissa Hine 1; Becca Kriskey 1; Julie Rahill 1.

The College of NJ GROUND BALLS: Caitlin Gregory 4; Tara Klein 3; Kelly Mitchell 2; Christine Cavallo 1; Karen Doane 1; Katie Reuther 1.

Union College TURNOVERS CAUSED: Melissa Hine 1; Keelin Skurek 1.

The College of NJ TURNOVERS CAUSED: Katie Reuther 2; Christine Cavallo 1; Tara Klein 1.

SHOTS - Union College 19; The College of NJ 24.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Union College 14; The College of NJ 15.

PENALTIES - Union College 0/6:00; The College of NJ 0/3:00.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Union College 0-0; The College of NJ 0-0.

TURNOVERS - Union College 11; The College of NJ 6.

CLEARS - Union College 8-13; The College of NJ 11-12.

GOALIES
UNION: Cat Ruggiero 6-2 (60:00 minutes, 15 shots-6 saves, 9 GA).
TCNJ: Caitlin Gregory 17-1 (60:00, 14-6, 8).

2008-05-11