CAMBRIDGE, MA - Hartwick junior Kirsten Hudson (Wellington, New Zealand), sophomore Jessica McKee (Tustin, CA), and freshman Sian Ells-Tewhiu (Wellington, New Zealand) combined for all 10 of Hartwick's goals as the Hawks advanced to the CWPA Eastern Championship with a 10-6 win over Brown Saturday at Harvard's Blodgett Pool in Cambridge, MA. With the victory, 'Wick advances to its fourth straight Eastern final tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. and will meet #12 Michigan, a 9-8 winner over Maryland in the other semifinal, for the title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
The two teams were meeting for the fourth time today with 'Wick looking for its third win after Brown scored an 8-7 overtime upset over the Hawks on Apr. 3rd.
The Bears and Hawks ended the first quarter deadlocked at 1-1 but 'Wick would play a dominant second period outscoring Brown 4-1 to take control of the match with a 5-2 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Bears shaved the lead to two goals, 6-4, outscoring the Hawks 2-1 in the third quarter, but Hartwick would win the final quarter 4-2 to claim the 10-6 victory and a spot in the championship match.
Mckee scored four goals to pace 'Wick. Hudson and Ells-Tewhiu each scored three goals with Hudson adding three assists. With her six-point day, Hudson became the first player in the history of Hartwick water polo to surpass the 500-point barrier for her career. Jess Dorman (Auckland, New Zealand) made 11 saves in goal for the Hawks. With 796 saves, she is now just two saves shy of tying Olivia Colebourne for the all-time saves record at the College.
The Hawks are 1-0 against Michigan this season. 'Wick downed the Wolverines at the Elite Six Tournament at Bucknell University, 9-7. Hartwick is just 5-8 against Michigan all-time. The Wolverines-Hawks championship marks the fourth time the two powers have met in the CWPA Eastern finals in the last six years. Hartwick won 5-2 in 2004 and 11-8 in 2006. The Wolverines came away with a 10-7 last season.
CWPA Eastern Championship Semifinals
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Harvard University's Blodgett Pool
Cambridge, MA
#14 Hartwick 10
#19 Brown 6
Score by periods:
Hartwick - 1-4-1-4=10
Brown - 1-1-2-2=6
Hartwick scoring:
Jessica McKee - 4g
Kirsten Hudson - 3g, 3a
Sian Ells-Tewhiu - 3g
Shannon Leoanrd - 2a
Barbara Amaro - 2a
Christina Evans - 1a
Jess Dorman - 1a
Hartwick goalkeeping:
Jess Dorman - 11 saves
