GRESHAM, Ore. — Goalie Olivia Lang (Gr., Cupertino, Calif.) made 15 saves to claim Player of the Game recognition as the New York Division Cornell University Big Red slipped past the Atlantic Division Champion/No. 15-ranked Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech) Hokies, 9-7, in the consolation round of the 2018 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship at Mt. Hood Community College.
The win advances Cornell to a 1:40 p.m. Pacific/4:40 p.m. Eastern consolation game on Saturday, May 5, against the winner of a consolation game pitting Texas Division Champion/No. 18 Texas A&M University and Northwest Division runner-up/No. 19 University of Oregon with a spot in the tournament’s Ninth Place game on the line.
Due to the loss Virginia Tech will see its 2018 season come to an end at 8:40 p.m. Pacific/11:40 p.m. 13th/15th place game on May 5 against the loser of the Texas A&M-vs.-Oregon game. The winner of the Hokies next game will tie for 13th place in the final standings, while the loser will tie for 15th place, as the 13th-to-16th positions are not played out due to limited pool time at the facility.
Cornell never trailed against Virginia Tech as Christabella Forest (Fr., Chino Hills, Calif.) drew first blood with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter to stake the Big Red to a lead they would not relinquish.
Cassandra Benson (Gr., Pocatello, Idaho) built the lead to 2-0 at the 3:53 mark as she buried a six-on-five opportunity prior to Sydney Davey (Sr., Fairfax, Va.) breaking the ice for the Hokies with a power-play conversion at 3:17 to pull Virginia Tech within 2-1.
Cornell rebuilt its lead to a pair (3-1) as Kelsey Carpenter (So., Ann Arbor, Mich.) cashed in yet another man-up chance at 2:41, but Emily Robinson (Fr., Houston, Texas) trimmed the margin back to a goal at 3-2 by hitting the back of the cage with a rocket at 2:15 for the Hokies.
The lead continued to rise and fall from a pair to one as Shayna Barnes (Sr., San Jose, Calif.) delivered for Cornell (1:53) and Karly Ginieczki (Jr., Herndon, Va.) responded for Virginia Tech (1:00) to make it a 4-3 game through seven minutes of play.
Cornell acquired some breathing room in the first 2:40 of the second quarter as Forest and Nicole Krisztinicz (Fr., McLean, Va.) put away even-strength (4:40) and man-up (4:21) strikes, respectively, in a 19 seconds window to double-up Virginia Tech at 6-3.
Robinson chipped the Hokies’ deficit down to a pair at 6-4 prior to halftime by cashing in a six-on-five chance with 59 seconds to go in the first half.
Similar to the first half, the final 14 minutes of regulation in the second half saw the two teams trade scoring shots to keep Virginia Tech in the game and Cornell clinging to a narrow margin.
The lead continued to sway between three and two goals as Krisztinicz lined in a five-meter penalty shot at 6:38, Robinson answered with an even-strength score at 4:09 and Benson delivered a counterpoint at 3:56 to make it 8-5 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Forest concluded Cornell’s scoring with 6:44 left in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 9-5 prior to Ginieczki (3:57) and Brittany Henry (Sr., Fairfax, Va.) (1:14) trimming the deficit down to the 9-7 final.
For Cornell, Forest finished with a hat-trick, while Benson and Krisztinicz notched two goals apiece. Barnes and Carpenter both scored once.
Across the tank, Robinson put away three scores for Virginia Tech to go along with a pair by Ginieczki. Davey and Henry tacked on solo strikes.
In cage, Adana McWhinney (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) made eight saves in taking the loss.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Cornell University | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 9 |
| Virginia Tech | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 7 |
| Virginia Tech Goals: | Emily Robinson (3); Karly Ginieczki (2); Sydney Davey; Brittany Henry | |||||
| Cornell Goals: | Christabella Forest (3); Cassandra Benson (2); Nicole Krisztinicz (2); Shayna Barnes; Kelsey Carpenter | |||||
| Saves: | Virginia Tech – Adana McWhinney (8) ; Cornell – Olivia Lang (15) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Virginia Tech – 6 ; Cornell – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Virginia Tech – 2-for-4 ; Cornell – 4-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Virginia Tech – 4-for-4 ; Cornell – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Tony Karaman, Marvel Shoen | |||||
Cornell University’s Shayna Barnes (#9)
Virginia Tech’s Karly Ginieczki tries a shot over Cornell University’s Carolina Duque (#18)
Virginia Tech goalie Adana McWhinney (#1)
Cornell University’s Shayna Barnes (#9) defends Virginia Tech’s Greta Mosley (#4)
