GRESHAM, Ore. — Mary Elizabeth Ward (Jr., San Rafael, Calif.) of Northwest Division Champion/host/No. 6-ranked the University of Washington scored five goals to notch Player of the Game honors and outperform sister Annie Ward (Fr., San Rafael, Calif.) of New England Division Boston College as the Huskies downed the Eagles, 10-7, in the Seventh Place game of the 2018 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship at Mt. Hood Community College.
The finish continues a trend of recent Top 10 marks by Washington as the team previously placed First (2000), Sixth (2003), Seventh (2016, 2017), Eighth (2004) and 13th (2008) in the history of the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
Washington never trailed in the game as Lauren Hickey (Gr., Palos Verdes, Calif.) put away an even-strength chances with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter prior to Mary Elizabeth Ward lining in a five-meter penalty shot at 2:42 to stake the Huskies to a 2-0 lead.
Annie Ward responded to her sister’s five-meter by rifling in a natural marker at 2:20 to move the Eagles within 2-1 exiting the first quarter.
Mary Elizabeth Ward started the second quarter with back-to-back tallies at 6:05 and 3:19 to enlarge the margin to 4-1 prior to Caroline Cook (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) putting away a shot at 2:53 to inch Boston College within a pair at 4-2. The Huskies and Eagles both notched scores in the waning moments of the first half as Mary Elizabeth Ward padded Washington’s lead to 5-2 at 1:49 prior to Heather Clark (Jr., Houston, Texas) chipping Boston College’s deficit down to a pair at 5-3 with 1:15 on the clock.
In the second half, Annie Ward shrank the lead down to a single score by torquing in a shot at 5:09 of the third quarter, but Hickey hurled in a response at 4:49 to stretch the difference to a pair (6-4) at the 4:49 mark.
The teams traded goals over the remainder of the quarter as Elizabeth Judge (So., Scarsdale, N.Y.) and Anastasia Bondarenko (So., Bellevue, Wash.) buried feeds for Boston College (2:41) and Washington (1:12), respectively, to allow the Huskies to exit the frame clinging to a 7-5 lead.
Washington began to pull away in the dawning moments of the fourth quarter as Mary Elizabeth Ward swished an even-strength strike (6:16) and Margaret Lazzarini (Gr., San Marino, Calif.) (3:11) converted a six-on-five bid (3:11) to provide the Huskies a 9-5 lead with approximately three minutes to play in the game.
Annie Ward attempted to rally the Eagles back into the game by curving in a natural goal at the 3:02 mark, but Stevenson hammered home the final score for the hosts by finding the back of the cage with 2:48 left to make it 10-6.
Judge finished out the game by flipping a ball into the cage with two seconds left for the 10-7 final score.
For Washington, Mary Elizabeth Ward accounted for half of the Huskies’ offense with five goals. Hickey tacked on a pair, with Bondarenko, Lazzarini and Stevenson each finding the back of the cage once.
Between the pipes, Elizabeth Lipps (Sr., Menlo Park, Calif.) made 10 saves to earn the win for Washington, while Amanda Bolanos (Sr., Palm Springs, Calif.) took the loss for Boston College with two stops.
The Eagles, who were making their first appearance at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship since 2010 at the University of Arizona, received a hat-trick from Annie Ward and a pair by Judge to go along with solo markers by Cook and Clark.
Boston College makes history with its Eighth Place final placement as it notches a new high at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship for the Eagles after previously tying for 13th with Washington at Mt. Hood during the 2008 tournament hosted by the University of Oregon; placing 12th in 2012 at the University of California-Davis; and claiming 15th at Arizona in 2010.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Boston College | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 7 |
| No. 6 University of Washington | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | – | 10 |
| Washington Goals: | Mary Elizabeth Ward (5); Lauren Hickey (2); Anastasia Bondarenko; Margaret Lazzarini; Karli Stevenson | |||||
| Boston College Goals: | Annie Ward (3); Elizabeth Judge (2); Caroline Cook; Heather Clark | |||||
| Saves: | Washington – Elizabeth Lipps (10) ; Boston College – Amanda Bolanos (2) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Washington – 7 ; Boston College – 3 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Washington – 2-for-3 ; Boston College – 1-for-7 | |||||
| Sprints: | Washington – 0-for-4 ; Boston College – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Simone LePay, Julie Snyder | |||||
Boston College’s Elizabeth Judge (#11) looks for an opening as the University of Washington’s Anastasia Bondarenko (#12) defends
Boston College’s Heather Clark (#4)
Boston College’s Annie Ward (#5) tries for a steal against the University of Washington’s Jacqueline Li (#3)
University of Washington’s Kellie MacPhee (#2) defends Boston College’s Annie Ward (#5)
Boston College’s Annie Ward (#5) goes up against her sister Mary Elizabeth Ward (#6)
