WORCESTER, Mass. – With the game tied at 9-9, Navy's Dani Vivonetto scored on a free-position shot with just 12 seconds remaining in the second half, as the Holy Cross women's lacrosse team fell to the Midshipmen, 10-9, on Saturday afternoon at the Hart Turf Field in Patriot League action. With the loss, the Crusaders fall to 2-7 overall (0-2 Patriot League), while Navy improves to 6-1 overall (2-0 Patriot League).

Four Holy Cross players earned three points, including junior Ali Baird (Wilbraham, Mass.) who scored three goals. Junior Megan Fenton (Bridgewater, N.J.) and sophomore Meg O'Leary (Longmeadow, Mass.) each had two goals and one assist for three points, while junior Katie Gardner (Garden City, N.Y.) recorded one goal and two assists. Freshman Kat Sutton (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) scored one goal.

Vivonetto and Erin Rawlick each scored three goals to lead the Midshipmen.

With Navy leading 1-0, the Crusaders scored two straight goals to move out to a 2-1 lead. O'Leary scored an unassisted goal and Fenton scored off a pass by Gardner. After the Midshipmen tied the game at 2-2, Holy Cross responded with three unanswered goals to take a 5-2 advantage. Baird scored twice and Gardner scored once. With the score at 5-3, Sutton found the back of the net to make it a 6-3 contest. After a goal by the Midshipmen, O'Leary scored her second goal of the game, but Navy scored the last goal of the half for a 7-5 score in favor of Holy Cross.

The Midshipmen scored the first four goals of the second half to move out to a 9-7 lead. With her third goal of the game, Baird made it a 9-8 contest with 7:24 left off an assist by Fenton, and then Fenton tied the game at 9-9 with 2:32 remaining with her second goal of the contest. Vivonetto's game-winning free-position goal came with just 12 seconds remaining.

Sophomore goalie Amy Martin (Bloomfield, Mich.) made six saves, while Elaina Ponchione stopped seven shots to earn the win. Holy Cross outshot Navy, 27-17, while the Crusaders picked up 15 ground balls and the Midshipmen picked up nine. Holy Cross had 12 draw controls and Navy had nine, while the Crusaders went 0-4 on free-position shots and the Midshipmen went 1-3.

The Crusaders return to action on Saturday, March 28, when they play Bucknell in a Patriot League contest in Lewisburg, Pa., at 3:00 p.m.

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WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman attack Dani Vivonetto (Rocky Point, N.Y.) came off the bench to register her second career hat trick, including the game-winner on an eight-meter attempt with just 12 seconds to play, as the Navy women's lacrosse team used a strong second-half effort to edge Holy Cross, 10-9, on Saturday afternoon at Hart Turf Field.

The win is the Navy's fourth in a row and third-straight on the road, improving its record to 6-1 overall on the spring and 2-0 in the Patriot League. The Crusaders, meanwhile, drop their fifth consecutive decision and fall to 2-7 and 0-2 with the loss.

“This was a great road conference win for us,” said Navy head coach Cindy Timchal. “Holy Cross is a team that is only two years removed from back-to-back league titles. They are much better than their record indicates and they really gave us a battle today. We struggled at times, but all in all, I was proud of our performance today.”

The first half saw both squads play to an even 2-2 tie through the first 12 minutes, with junior standout Erin Rawlick (Forest Hill, Md.) accounting for both Navy tallies.

Back-to-back scores from Holy Cross junior Ali Baird sparked a 3-0 run for the host Crusaders, who forged ahead 5-2 with 11:23 to play and maintained a 7-5 lead into halftime.

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2009-03-21