No. 19 Boston College Takes Out No. 12 Pennsylvania State University, 9-4, to Start 2019 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Annie Ward (So., San Rafael, Calif.) of New England Division Champion/No. 19-ranked Boston College scored five times as the Eagles clawed past Mid-Atlantic Division Champion/No. 12 Pennsylvania State University, 9-4, in the opening round of the 2019 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Notre Dame at the Rolfs Aquatic Center.

• Boston College never trailed in the game as the Eagles received man-up (2:43) and even-strength (1:15) scores from Ward to acquire a 2-0 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter.
• Trailing 3-0 following another power-play conversion by Ward with 5:47 left in the second quarter, Penn State scrambled the scoreboard goose-egg as Maddy Ulrich (Fr., Reading, Pa.) rocked the cage with a blast at 4:32 to move the Nittany Lions within 3-1.
• However, Caroline Cook (Sr., West Chester, Pa.) and Ward closed out the first half with back-to-back even-strength markers at 2:44 and five seconds, respectively, to provide the Eagles a 5-1 margin at the break.
• The third quarter saw neither team must much offense as a man-up strike by Heather Clark (Sr., The Woodlands, Texas), a pair of saves by PSU netminder Rebecka Hart (Fr., Reading, Pa.), a solo block by B.C. starting goalie Mary Holt (Jr., Pasadena, Calif.) and six ejections, including four calls against Boston College, were the sole statistical highlights.
• Unlike the third quarter which saw both teams struggle to put the ball in the cage, the fourth quarter was an offensive showcase with both teams putting the ball away three times to keep the five-goal margin intact at the final horn.
• PSU attempted to climb back into the game as Alyssa Bubel (Fr., Reading, Pa.) and Leah Perkins (So., Erie, Pa.) solved Boston College replacement goalie Kat Figueroa (So., Delray Beach, Fla.) at 5:40 and 5:03, respectively, to inch the Nittany Lions within three at 6-3.
• The trio of Clark (3:41), Ward (3:03) and Elizabeth Judge (Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y.) (2:35) put to rest any doubts about the eventual outcome as they went back-to-back-to-back with natural markers to turn a three goal lead into a six-score margin.
• Claire Beno (So., Perkasie, Pa.) brought the curtain down on the game’s scoring as she zipped in a final blow for Penn State at the 1:20 mark to lock the scoreboard at 9-4.
• For Boston College, Ward (five) and Clark (two) both notched multi-score games, while Judge and Cook accounted for single goals in support of a three save effort by Holt in the first three quarters and a solo block by Figueroa as the closer in the fourth quarter.
• The quartet of Ultich, Perkins, Beno and Bubel each scored once for the Nittany Lions. Hart made 10 saves in taking the loss.
• Boston College, which is making its fifth overall appearance at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship, is assured to finish no lower than Eighth Place in the 16-team championship standings courtesy its defeat of Penn State.
• The Eagles will return to the pool at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, for a quarterfinal clash with four-time (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018) defending National Champion/Sierra Pacific Division Champion/No. 2 the University of California-Davis.  UC-Davis punched its ticket back into the quarterfinals courtesy a 17-6 victory against host/Midwest Division Fourth Place finisher/No. 15 Notre Dame.
• Historically, B.C. has previously tied for 13th (2008) and placed 12th (2009), 15th (2010) and Eighth (2018) as the team is guaranteed to tie its best finish at worst and potentially establish a new high mark in 2019.
• The loss drops Penn State into the consolation side of the bracket as the Nittany Lions will take on the Irish of Notre Dame at 8:40 p.m. this evening.
• Penn State, which can finish no higher than Ninth Place in the final 16-team standings due to the defeat, is making its third consecutive appearance at the National Collegiate Club Championship due to the University of Pittsburgh hosting the 2017 tournament. In 2017, the Nittany Lions took the No. 16 spot in the field as the runner-up from the Mid-Atlantic Division and converted the opportunity into an 11th place finish with a 15-6 loss to California Polytechnic State University, a 9-5 (5-0 forfeit) win against the University of Utah, a 9-8 loss to Texas A&M University and a 9-8 overtime victory versus the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 11th Place game. Last year at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore., PSU dropped a game to the University of Washington (12-7 L) before posting victories against the University of Colorado (10-4 W) and Wellesley College (13-1 W) to make the Ninth Place game against the University of Oregon (11-8 L).
• The last time Penn State made the National Championship field as a division champion prior to 2018 was in 2015 as the Nittany Lions registered a Seventh Place finish with a win over Texas A&M (6-3 W OT), losses to San Diego State University (14-5 L) and New York University (11-6 L) and a victory over the University of Oregon (9-8 W).
• In 2011 at Notre Dame, Penn State also finished in Eighth Place with a win over Middlebury College (14-8 W) and losses to the UC-Davis (11-1 L),  the University of Florida (10-5 L) and the host Irish (5-4 L). Historically, the 2011 berth snapped a five year absence from the championship for the Nittany Lions as the 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2019 Mid-Atlantic Division Champion Lions placed 10th at the 2001 tournament hosted by Miami University (Ohio) and 11th in 2005 at Texas A&M.

Boston College’s Elizabeth Judge (#11) rises to shot as Pennsylvania State University’s Sofia Viebranz (#9) closes

Pennsylvania State University’s Sofia Viebranz (#9) gets blocked from behind by Boston College’s Annie Ward (#5)

Boston College’s Heather Clark (#4) pepares to shoot surrounded by Pennsylvania State University’s Lindsey Berra (#11) and Nediva Levine (#19)