Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 13, 1990 TAG: 9005130154
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But while Roanoke College coach Tracy Coyne was pleased with her team's 11-5 victory over Denison University in an NCAA Division III women's lacrosse quarterfinal Saturday at Alumni Field, she saw some things that disturbed her.
They are things the Lady Maroons will have to improve on if they plan to do more than just make an appearance in the national semifinals May 19 at Princeton University.
"We lost our intensity," said Coyne, Roanoke's first-year coach. "At the half, we were leading 6-0 and we came off the celebrating like the game was over. We thought we had the game won and were going to Princeton right then."
Leading 10-2 with 11 minutes remaining, third-ranked Roanoke (18-0) didn't display the killer instinct coaches like to see, and Denison came back.
The Big Red scored three goals in three minutes to close to 10-5.
But just when Denison (11-5) appeared to be in position to draw closer, Lady Maroons goalie Kiki Chesterton rediscovered the form that had helped her turn away Denison's first 15 shots on goal.
Chesterton made a sprawling save to deny Niki Stone and effectively end Denison's comeback bid.
"We got a little bit flat in the second half," said Chesterton, a junior who finished with 18 saves. "They started coming down on us one on one and we made a few mistakes."
Roanoke, which will meet the winner of Saturday's game between St. Lawrence and Wellesley, did just about everything right in the first half.
Junior attacker Robin Collinson, who finished with five goals and two assists, put the Lady Maroons ahead 2-0 with goals in the first five minutes of the game.
Like Chesterton, Denison freshman goalie Christy Polumbus turned away numerous shots with outstanding saves, but Nicole Coppola and Mary Brown were able to slip the ball past her to push the lead to 4-0.
If things had stayed that way, Denison might have been able to regroup at halftime, but Big Red lapses in the final seconds made the task much more difficult.
With 22 seconds to go, Brown took a pass from Collinson and sprinted across the goal mouth. She then cut back, freeing herself from a defender, and put a scoop shot by Polumbus.
Roanoke's Kaylie Small won the draw on the restart and sprinted through the Denison defense to the attack zone, then made a quick pass to Collinson, who scored with nine seconds left in the half.
"That got us down," said Denison coach Sue Stimmel. "We were looking ahead to the half and had a breakdown in concentration."
Denison's main problem, however, was its inability to solve Roanoke's defense in the first half.
The Big Red was quicker in the midfield, but once they brought the ball into the attack zone, Roanoke's defensive unit of Coppola, Mimi O'Leary, Tracy Tahaney and Melyce Schreiner stifled most of their rushes.
The few times they got by the defense, Chesterton provided a final barrier.
Denison played without Jen Sherbrooke, its leading scorer, team captain and lone senior. Sherbrooke didn't make the trip because she was attending graduation.
"I don't know if it would have changed the outcome, but it might have been closer," Stimmel said. "We're a young team, and it was inexperience trying to go against a good defense.
"If [Sherbrooke] had been here, she might have helped us figure out how to score earlier." Denison05-5 Roanoke65-11
Goals - Denison: Stone, Bradley, McJunkin, Dewey, McElven. Roanoke: Collinson 5, Brown 2, Budnitz 2, Small, Coppola.
Assists - Denison: None. Roanoke: Collinson 2, Brown, Small, Dittman, Coppola.
Saves - Denison: Polumbus 9. Roanoke: Chesterton 18.
Shots - 25-25.
by CNB