No. 12 University of Virginia Collects 13-5 Victory over Columbia University to Conclude 2017 Women's National Collegiate Club Championship in Tie for 13th Place

2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results

No. 12 University of Virginia-vs.-Columbia University Scoresheet

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Goalie Ellen Beauchemin (Fairfax, Va.) stopped seven shots to garner Player of the Game recognition as No. 12-ranked/Atlantic Division Champion the University of Virginia topped New York Division Champion Columbia University, 13-5, to tie for 13th Place in the final 2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship standings.

Due to time constraints brought on by a 30-game, three-day tournament, the 13th and 15th place games in the final tournament standing as Virginia finishes in a tie for 13th with the No. 16/Rocky Mountain Division Champion the University of Utah which downed Heartland Division Champion Washington University in St. Louis by an 11-1 count in the other 13/15 game. Columbia and Washington in St. Louis conclude the championship in a tie for 15th place.

Columbia fell behind early and never recovered against Virginia as the Cavaliers/Wahoos built a 6-0 spread by the conclusion of the first quarter and never looked back in outscoring their Atlantic Division foe 7-5 over the remainder of the contest to claim an eight-goal margin of victory.

Madeleine Keach (Charlottesville, Va.) and Jessica Fairly (Mechanicsville, Va.) led the way for Virginia with hat-tricks, while Olivia Sheffer (Harrisonburg, Va.) tacked on a pair of scores. Maddie Williamson (Charlottesville, Va.), Caitlen Moser (Oakland, Calif.), Emily Hybl (Fredericksburg, Va.), Maggie O’Toole (Robbinsville, N.J.) and Katherine Pajewski (Charlottesville, Va.) each posted solo tallies to round out the eight student-athletes who registered at least one goal for Virginia in the contest.

Columbia received a hat-trick from Maryann Verghese (Gr., Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) and a pair by Electra Williams (Fr., Pasadena, Calif.) to go along with nine saves by goalie Clara Benioff (Fr., Golden, Colo.).

The finish marks the third time the Lions have tied for 15th in a 16-team Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship field as Columbia previously tied for the final position in 2007 (at Williams College) and 2013 (at the University of Minnesota). Prior to the expansion of the championship to 16-teams in 2005, the squad notched 12th place finishes in 12 team fields in both 2001 (at Miami University of Ohio) and 2003 (at Carthage College).

For Virginia, the 13th place finish follows earlier 11th (2016, 16-team field at the University of California-Santa Cruz) and 10th (2003, 12-team field at Carthage).

Teams	1	2	3	4	—	Final
Columbia University	0	2	1	2	—	5
No. 12 University of Virginia	6	2	2	3	—	13

Virginia Goals: Madeleine Keach (3); Jessica Fairly (3); Olivia Sheffer (2); Maddie Williamson; Caitlen Moser; Emily Hybl; Maggie O’Toole; Katherine Pajewski

Columbia Goals: Maryann Verghese (3); Electra Williams (2)

Saves: Virginia – Ellen Beauchemin (7) ; Columbia – Clara Benioff (9)

Exclusions: Virginia – 8 ; Columbia – 7

Advantage Opportunities: Virginia – 3-for-7 ; Columbia – 2-for-8

Sprints: Virginia – 4-for-4 ; Columbia – 0-for-4

Cards: None

Officials: Nikola Malezanov, Dave Alberstein