NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Hanna Muller (So., East London, South Africa) scored five times to notch Player of the Game recognition as the Midwest Division Champion/No. 11-ranked Lions of Lindenwood University pawed past the Northwest Division Champion/No. 7 Huskies of the University of Washington, 11-8, in the Fifth Place game of the 2019 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship in the Rolfs Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
- Trailing 1-0, 2-1, 3-1 and 3-2 throughout the first quarter before falling behind 4-3 and 5-4 in the opening two minutes of the second quarter, Lindenwood took command of the contest with 4:21 left in the first half as Nikki Howe (So, New Lenox, Ill.) sliced in a shot to make it five-all.
- From there, the Lions went on the attack as Muller ripped in back-to-back penalty shots at 3:43 and 3:02 before Isabella Boccia (So., Louisville, Ky.) bound a ball into the twine with 17 seconds left on the second quarter clock to provide Lindenwood an 8-5 lead.
- Washington barked back in the third quarter as goalie Shelby Smith (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) penned the Lions and Mary Elizabeth Ward (Sr., San Rafael, Calif.) deposited her fifth goal of the game at 4:19 to inch the Huskies within two at 8-6 heading into the final seven minutes of action.
- Lindenwood, however, unleashed on Washington in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as Howe (5:03) and Muller (4:37) roared for back-to-back blasts to build the Lions’ lead to 10-6.
- Ward attempted to single-handily rally the Huskies as she hammered home scores at 3:12 and 1:21 to inch Washington back within a pair at 10-8.
- Emily Kini (So., Palatine, Ill.) snuffed out the comeback try with 46 seconds remaining in the frame by snapping in a shot to make it 11-8.
- For the Lions, Muller (five), Kini (three) and Howe (two) recorded multi-goal games with Boccia accounting for the remaining tally.
- Ward led all scorers with a game-high seven markers for Washington with Karli Stone (Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) adding a single goal.
- In cage, Betsy Zanocco (So., Arlington Heights, Ill.) earned the win with seven saves, while Smith suffered the loss with three stops.
- In the history of the National Collegiate Club Championship, Lindenwood tied for 15th in both 2007 and 2008, while tying for 13th in 2011. More recently, the program placed 12th in 2012, notched a Fifth Place mark in 2013 and garnered a Seventh Place finish in 2014 prior to finishing Fourth (2018) and Fifth (2019) the past two years.
- Washington adds another Top 10/Sixth Place finish to its National Collegiate Club Championship resume as the team previously finished in First (2000), Sixth (2003), Seventh (2016, 2017, 2018), Eighth (2004) and 13th (2008) Place. The 2019 placement marks the program’s highest finish at the event since taking Sixth in 2003 at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| University of Washington | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 8 |
| Lindenwood University | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | – | 11 |
| Lindenwood Goals: | Hanna Muller (5); Emily Kini (3); Nikki Howe (2); Isabelle Boccia | |||||
| Washington Goals: | Mary Elizabeth Ward (7); Karli Stone | |||||
| Saves: | Lindenwood – Betsy Zanocco (7) ; Washington – Shelby Smith (3) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Lindenwood – 10 ; Washington – 10 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Lindenwood – 4-for-10 ; Washington – 3-for-10 | |||||
| Sprints: | Lindenwood – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) ; Washington – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Greg Sanchez; Scott Voltz | |||||
Lindenwood University’s Abby VerMeer (#20) pursues the University of Washington’s Karli Stone (#4)
Lindenwood University’s Naomi Sanders (#7) scans for an opening as the University of Washington’s Natalie Erjavec (#7) closes in
The University of Washington’s Karli Stone (#4) defends Lindenwood University’s Isabella Boccia (#2)
Lindenwood University’s Hanna Muller (#8)
