WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saint Francis University went 1-2 on the second day of the George Washington University Invitational as the Red Flash burned Mercyhurst University, 8-6, but was extinguished by Gannon University, 8-7, and the Virginia Military Institute, 14-10.
The Red Flash, which now stand at 8-12 on the season, dropped their first game of the day by falling via an 8-7 final score in a back-and-forth match against the Gannon Golden Knights.
The match was a defensive one to start. Gannon put away the first goal two minutes into the match to take an early lead. The Red Flash looked to strike back, but Melani Aghazarian (Glendale, Calif./Glendale (La Valley College)) and Erin O’Neill (Landsdale, Pa./North Penn) each hit the post on the SFU counter attack. The Red Flash defense had five steals in the first quarter but could not convert as two steals by the Gannon defense and three saves by Emily Rodriguez kept it 1-0 after one quarter.
A pair of Rodriguez saves paced the start of the second quarter before Gannon made it 2-0 just over two minutes in. That opened up the offensive play as Kelly Fehr (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) answered with a goal to make it 2-1 and Gannon struck back to make it 3-1 all within 60 seconds of play.
Both teams hit the post and the respective goalies made a pair of saves over the course of the next three minutes of play. Emily Wickenheiser (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) scored to make it 3-2 with just over a minute left in the half and hit the post just before time expired to allow Gannon to carry a one-score lead into the halftime break.
Tina Bonilla (Los Angeles, Calif./Birmingham (LA Valley College)) brought SFU even with a shot that tucked inside the near post just two minutes into the half. Gannon responded with a power-play goal and an even-strength tally a minute later to retake a two-goal advantage at 5-3. A second power-play tally put Gannon up three before O’Neill stole the ball and threw an outlet pass to Fehr on a breakaway who buried a chance with a second left on the clock to make it a 6-4 game heading into the fourth quarter.
Gannon retook a three-goal lead after Aimee Baur (North Wales, Pa/North Penn) was called for a penalty foul and the Knights converted the ensuing penalty shot. A Kelsey Gring (Sinking Spring, Pa/Wilson) power-play goal brought the Red Flash back within two and the defense held the Knights at bay. Missy McCreary (Altadena, Calif./LaSalle (Citrus College)) pulled SFU back within one after she powered in a Wickenheiser pass to make it 7-6.
The Flash had a couple of chances to draw even but could not get one by Rodriguez. The Knights scored an insurance goal to make it 8-6 with just over a minute left. A Wickenheiser tally seconds later again brought SFU within one. Following a defensive stand, the Red Flash had one last chance to draw even but Wickenheiser’s shot clipped the top of the cross bar and went out of play.
The Red Flash outshot Gannon 29-21. Rodriguez made nine saves on 16 shots on goal for Gannon, while Kate Wilke (Burbank, Calif./Burroughs) recorded seven stops on 15 shots on goal.
Against Mercyhurst, the Red Flash got goals from five different people and a 12-save effort from Wilke in an 8-6 win.
The Red Flash defense forced two turnovers early and killed off a penalty to set the tone in the afternoon session against the Lakers. The defense fueled the offense as off of the penalty kill, O’Neill got loose in the middle and went top shelf to score the first goal of the game. The teams again traded turnovers and two big saves from Wilke kept the score 1-0. McCreary then beat the buzzer, scoring as time expired to give SFU a two-goal lead after one quarter.
The Mercyhurst defense forced a pair of turnovers in the early stages of the second quarter and turned the latter into their first goal of the game. Neither team could establish an offensive attack over the next several minutes as they traded turnovers. Fehr got good position behind the defense, drawing a penalty shot late in the half and converted it to make it 3-1. Wilke then took over late in the quarter, making a trio of stops to keep it 3-1 Red Flash at the half.
Wickenheiser made it 4-1 Red Flash, cashing in on a power play early in the quarter. Wilke made two more saves and benefitted from the post on a third to keep the Lakers off the board. Her last save led to a counter attack and McCreary’s second goal of the day to make it 5-1.
The Lakers rallied back, scoring three times in a two-minute span to cut the lead to 5-4 and force a SFU timeout. Out of the timeout, the Red Flash drew an exclusion and Baur tallied a power-play goal to make it 6-4. The Lakers responded just before the end of the quarter, scoring with 30 seconds left to make it 6-5 heading into the fourth.
The Lakers tied the game less than a minute into the fourth and after a defensive stand looked to take their first lead. Off a broken play, the Lakers’ Becky Insalaco broke free and in alone on Wilke but the freshman aggressively challenged her shot and made a save. After the teams traded defensive stops, Fehr gave the Red Flash the lead for good with a shot just inside the near post midway through the quarter.
Fehr added an insurance goal, hammering home a one-time pass from Bonilla on the power play to give SFU an 8-6 lead. The Flash defense didn’t allow a shot on goal the rest of the way to earn the program’s eighth win in its inaugural season.
The Lakers outshot SFU 33-16 with 12-of-16 shots were on target, while the defense forced 15 off the 33 Lakers’ shot wide of the net. Wilke stopped 12 of the Lakers’ 16 shots on cage.
The Red Flash dropped their final game of the GW Mini 14-10 to the Keydets from the Virginia Military Institue. VMI rallied for six goals in the fourth quarter to outdistance Saint Francis.
The Red Flash power play was firing on all cylinders in the game, converting on five-of-seven opportunities. Fehr scored the first goal of the game, converting on the man advantage. VMI would rally back, scoring the next three goals of the quarter in a three-minute span. SFU rallied back as Gring scored back-to-back goals on the power play to knot the game at three going into the second quarter.
After SFU won the second-quarter sprint, Baur dropped in a goal off a pass from Wickenheiser to give SFU back the lead. After a pair of Wilke steals and a defensive save, the Red Flash converted another power play opportunity as Wickenheiser scored again to make it 5-3. The Flash would run the goal streak to five courtesy an individual effort by Bonilla who stole the ball, broke away from VMI and scored on a breakaway to make it 6-3. A late defensive save as time expired gave SFU a 6-3 halftime lead.
However, VMI turned the tables on Saint Francis and rattled off its own rally.
The Keydets scored the first two goals of the second half to cut the SFU lead to one. Power play goals from Baur and Fehr stopped the run and re-established a three-goal lead, but the Keydets again struck back. VMI scored twice in just over a minute to cut the lead to one and tied it with a power play strike in the final moments of the quarter to knot the score at eight-all entering the fourth quarter of action.
A pair of late exclusions to end the third gave VMI a two-man advantage to start the quarter. The Keydets took advantage of the man-up opportunity to grab their first lead of the second half at 9-8. After the teams traded quick goals, the Keydets scored in a flurry. VMI tallied four goals in 90 seconds to open up a five-goal advantage at 14-9. It proved too much for the Red Flash to overcome as Aghazarian tallied a late goal to cut the lead to four. However, the Keydets were able to run out the clock on their next possession.
Release courtesy Saint Francis University Athletics Communications
