September 24, 2008
Kemp Lifts WC Past St. Mary's, 3-2, in Strokes
Washington Improves to 5-1 for First Time in 11 Years

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD -- Junior midfielder Kelsey Kemp (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) recorded the game-winning stroke in the stroke-off to lift visiting Washington College past host St. Mary's College, 3-2, in a non-conference field hockey game this afternoon in St. Mary's City, MD. With the win, the Shorewomen improved to 5-1 on the season for the first time since 1997. The Seahawks fell to 4-4 with the loss.

The two teams were knotted 2-2 after regulation and neither team could score in either of the two 15-minute overtime periods. Washington held a 2-1 lead in the first round of penalty strokes before Amanda Bramble converted the Seahawks' final stroke to force a second set of five strokes each. Each team then converted two strokes each in the first four rounds of the second set of strokes to knot the stroke score at 4-4. Kemp then converted Washington's final stroke of the round and junior goalkeeper Elena Nicholoff (Tunkhannock, PA/Lackawanna Trail) denied a stroke attempt by Bramble to give the Shorewomen the 5-4 advantage in strokes and the 3-2 victory.

St. Mary's scored the first goal of the game with 13:44 remaining in the first half when Emily Norris scored. The Shorewomen knotted things up at 1-1 when junior attack Kristin Bircsak (East Windsor, NJ/Hightstown) scored 59 seconds before halftime.

Washington pulled ahead in the second when Kemp assisted a goal by senior midfielder Amy Spadanuta (Hackettstown, NJ/Warren Hills) with 14:59 left in regulation, but St. Mary's forced overtime when Emily Smithson scored with 7:38 remaining.

Washington held a 25-18 advantage in shots and an 18-9 edge in penalty corners in the game. Nicholoff finished with nine saves for the Shorewomen, while Emma Lauhoff made six saves for St. Mary's.

The game was the first for the Shorewomen to go to strokes since a 2-1 win over Rowan on September 23rd, 2003.

The Shorewomen return to action Friday with a 7:00 p.m. Centennial Conference home game against Franklin & Marshall.

BOX SCORE