2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results
No. 5 University of Central Florida-vs.-No. 11 Texas A&M University Scoresheet
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Cheyenne Porter (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) kept six attempts out of the cage and Dakota Porter (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) put three shots into the net to share Player of the Game honors as No. 5-ranked the University of Central Florida built an early lead and held off No. 11 Texas A&M University down the stretch, 7-3, in the opening round of the 2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joe C. Trees Pool.
Courtesy the victory, Florida Division Champion UCF advances into the tournament quarterfinals at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, where the Lady Knights will face the winner of a first round game pitting No. 10/Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/host Pitt and No. 2/Southwest Division Champion San Diego State University.
Central Florida never trailed in racing out to a 3-0 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter to build a margin which the Texas Division Champion Aggies were unable to eliminate prior to the final buzzer.
Haley Wharton (So., Palm Beach, Fla.) drew first blood for UCF by connecting on a shot at 4:18 after Texas A&M failed to finish on a five-meter penalty shot with 4:38 on the clock in the first quarter. Casey Burke (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Dakota Porter insulated the lead prior to the conclusion of the frame by tickling the twine with tallies at 3:18 and 2:20, respectively.
The Aggies closed to within a pair 24 seconds into the seven-minute second quarter as Veronica Hadley (Sr., Dallas, Texas) heaved in a six-on-five chance with 6:36 to go until halftime to move Texas A&M within 3-1. Both teams converted on chances over the remainder of the first half as Katie Britton (Jr., Lawrencebury, Tenn.) flushed an even-strength feed for UCF at 4:37 prior to Angela Kelley (Fr., Houston, Texas) responding with her team’s second man-up strike with 27 seconds left to set the scoreboard at 4-2 in favor of the Floridians going into halftime.
Central Florida put to rest any doubts regarding the contest’s eventual outcome in the third quarter as Dakota Porter put the finishing touches on a hat-trick with back-to-back even-strength markers at the 2:04 and 18 seconds marks to provide the Lady Knights a 6-2 entering the fourth and final quarter of play.
Following a yellow card to Cheyenne Porter for failing to abide by an instruction on a failed five-meter penalty shot attempt by Texas A&M, Burke brought the curtain down by burying a blast at the 4:12 mark to give Central Florida a 7-2 lead with approximately four minutes remaining in regulation.
The Aggies attempted one final charge as Linden Overbey (So., Cypress, Texas) lined in a shot with 44 seconds on the clock, but it was too little and too late as Central Florida claimed a 7-3 win.
For the Lady Knights, Burke posted a pair of points with Britton and Wharton both finding the backside of the cage once.
Kelley, Hadley and Overbey accounted for the Aggies’ offense, while goalie Madeline McMillan (Jr., Plano, Texas) took the loss with two saves.
The defeat drops Texas A&M into the consolation side the championship bracket as the team will face the loser of the Pitt-vs.-San Diego State game at 6:20 p.m. this evening with hopes of playing their way back to a Ninth-to-11th Place finish in the 16-team field for the second best mark in the history of the program.
This year marks the Aggies’ eighth appearance at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship tournament following berths in 2001 (Eighth), 2005 (12th), 2008 (15th), 2010 (13th), 2013 (12th), 2014 (12th) and 2015 (15th).
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | Final |
| No. 11 Texas A&M University |
0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | 3 |
| No. 5 University of Central Florida | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 7 |
Central Florida Goals: Dakota Porter (3); Casey Burke (2); Katie Britton; Haley Wharton
Texas A&M Goals: Angela Kelley; Veronica Hadley; Linden Overbey
Saves: Central Florida – Cheyenne Porter (6) ; Texas A&M – Madeline McMillan (2)
Exclusions: Central Florida – 6 ; Texas A&M – 3
Advantage Opportunities: Central Florida – 0-for-3 ; Texas A&M – 2-for-6
Sprints: Central Florida – 0-for-4 ; Texas A&M – 4-for-4
Cards: YC – Central Florida (Cheyenne Porter, 5:12 left in 4th Quarter)
Officials: Dave Alberstein, Jay O’Neil
Texas A&M University’s Julia Johnson
Texas A&M University’s Kaytlin Pitzer shoots behind the University of Central Florida’s Kristin Plitnick (No. 2)
