GRESHAM, Ore. — Betsy Trace (Sr., Upper Arlington, Ohio) scored four times to claim Player of the Game status as No. 13-ranked/Big Ten Division Champion The Ohio State University overwhelmed New York Division Champion Cornell University, 17-4, in the opening round of the 2018 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Washington at Mt. Hood Community College.
Courtesy the win, Ohio State advances into the tournament quarterfinals at 10:10 a.m. Pacific/1:10 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, May 5, as the squad will take on the victor of a first round game pitting No. 5/Southeast Division Champion the University of Florida and No. 15/Atlantic Division Champion Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech). Due to the loss, Cornell falls into the consolation side of the bracket and will clash with the fallen from the Gators/Hokies games at 6:20 p.m. Pacific/9:20 p.m. Eastern later this evening.
The Buckeyes never trailed in the game as Ohio State went in front 3-0 courtesy a five-meter penalty shot by Trace (6:19) followed by even-strength strikes from Jory Gould (So., Cincinnati, Ohio) and Megan Wolf (Sr., Mason, Ohio) with 6:03 and 2:20 left in the first quarter, respectively. Nicole Krisztinicz (Fr., McLean, Va.) broke the ice for Cornell at 2:04 to pull the Big Red within 3-1, but Hannah May (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio) delivered a response via a volley with 59 seconds left in the opening frame to make it 4-1 after a quarter of action.
Eadyn Miller (Fr., Napoleon, Ohio) added to the lead in the opening moments of the second quarter by floating in a shot with 6:43 until halftime. A man-up score by Abby Hartsell (Gr., Durham, N.C.) (4:39) followed by back-to-back even-strength strikes from Maddie Franzoni (Sr., Mason, Ohio) and Trace with 47 seconds and one second left in the quarter, respectively, helped stake Ohio State to an 8-1 lead going into halftime.
Franzoni further padded the margin to 9-1 with 6:35 to go in the third quarter prior to Christabella Forest (Fr., Chino Hills, Calif.) lining in a five-meter penalty shot to move Cornell back to within seven at 9-2 with 4:01 on the clock.
A comeback, however, was not to come for the Big Red as Trace bombed in a shot with 3:31 on the clock prior to Hartsell and Wolf netting man-up (2:33) and even-strength (2:05) chances, respectively, to build the margin to 12-2.
Back-to-back six-on-five tallies by Miller (6:47) and May (6:13) to start the fourth quarter made it 14-2 prior to Cassandra Benson (Gr., Pocatello, Idaho) hooking in a natural marker for Cornell at 5:27 to set the scoreboard at 14-3.
Consecutive scores by Wolf (2:45, even-strength) and Aidan Hartsell (Jr., Worthington, Ohio) (1:18, man-up) widened the chasm between the programs to 16-3 prior to Forest (1:02, even-strength) and Trace (44 seconds, man-up) each finding the back of the cage for Cornell and Ohio State in establishing the 17-4 final score.
For the Buckeyes, who can now finish no lower than eighth in the final tournament standings, Trace led the way with four goals, while Wolf notched a hat-trick. Abby Hartsell, Miller, Franzoni and May each posted pairs of scores with Gould and Aidan Hartsell putting away single tallies.
In cage, Amanda Morgan (So., Worthington, Ohio) made six saves to earn the win for OSU, while Cornell’s Olivia Lang (Gr., Cupertino, Calif.) suffered the loss for Cornell with seven stops.
Forest keyed the Big Red with two goals to go along with single scores from Benson and Kristinicz.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Cornell University | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 |
| No. 13 Ohio State University | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | – | 17 |
| Ohio State Goals: | Besty Trace (4); Megan Wolf (3); Abby Hartsell (2); Eadyn Miller (2); Maddie Franzoni (2); Hannah May (2); Jory Gould; Aidan Hartsell | |||||
| Cornell Goals: | Christabella Forest (2); Cassandra Benson; Nicole Kristinicz | |||||
| Saves: | Ohio State – Amanda Morgan (6) ; Cornell – Olivia Lang (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Ohio State – 4 ; Cornell – 9 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Ohio State – 7-for-9 ; Cornell – 1-for-4 | |||||
| Sprints: | Ohio State – 4-for-4 ; Cornell – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Gene Gill, Simone LePay | |||||
Cornell University’s Kelsey Carpenter (#4) looks for an opening against a defending Aidan Hartsell (#15) from Ohio State University
Ohio State University’s Jory Gould (#18) prepares to line a shot over Cornell University’s Carolina Duque (#18)
Ohio State University’s Paige Torbet (#8)
Cornell University’s Nicole Kristinicz (#7) battles Ohio State University’s Maddie Franzoni (#6) for the ball
