March 25, 2008

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Erin Rawlick scored three goals in a two-minute span midway through the second half to lift Navy to a 15-12 victory over Canisius on Tuesday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The win pushes Navy's record to 7-1 overall, while Canisius, which saw a five-game winning streak end, dropped to 5-4 overall.

The Mids, who lost their first game of the season last Saturday at Colgate, remained undefeated at home with a 7-0 mark.

"It was nice to be back home after a disappointing loss on Saturday," said Navy head coach Cindy Timchal. "Canisius played us very tough and we knew we were facing a good team. The five-goal run in the second half was obviously a key point in the game, and it was nice to get back into the win column."

Rawlick led a strong Navy offensive attack with a career-high nine points (7 g, 2 a). Her nine points are tied for the third most nationally in a game this season, while her seven goals are the fourth most. She entered the game ranked ninth in the country in points per game (5.14) and now has 45 points (34 g, 11 a) on the season.

"My teammates just did a great job getting me open and feeding me the ball in a position to score," said Rawlick. "We really worked on our scoring plays today and the difference between today and Saturday was that we were more patient and weren't so rushed."

The Mids fell behind 1-0, but took a 6-2 lead on Rawlick's third goal of the game with 17:59 to play. The Griffins rallied by scoring six of the half's last eight goals to tie the game at eight heading into halftime.

Canisius led 10-9 with just under 25 minutes to play, before freshman Meg Decker started a five-goal run by the Mids with her fourth goal of the game with 24:06 to play, tying the game at 10. Rawlick then scored three straight to give Navy the lead for good, while Kaylene Klingenstein added an insurance goal with 9:45 to play to push the Navy lead to 15-11, before Navy ran out the clock.

For the Mids, it was a big win to bounce back from their first loss of the season.

"I think it shows a lot for our team to respond the way we did against a good team after losing our first game on Saturday," said Rawlick. "We were able to put that loss behind us, learn from it and get the win today."

"It was just a rough game for us on Saturday. It was our first road game and we weren't ready for the pressure they put on us," said Navy senior goalie Natalie Blandon, who stopped a career-high 14 shots, including several from point-blank range. "It really reinstates our confidence. We wanted to show that we will play hard every game and that we are here for the long run and can be a threat in the Patriot League."

Besides Rawlick's nine points, Mary Ruttum scored six points (2 g, 4 a), Decker added five points (4 g, 1 a) and Klingenstein (2 g) and Amanda Towey (2 a) scored two points.

Canisius outshot the Mids, 32-31, but Navy won 20 draw controls to Canisius' nine. The Mids did turn the ball over 19 times to Canisius' 10.

Navy will travel to Davidson on Saturday, March 29, for a non-conference tilt, beginning at 1:00 pm. Navy's next home game will be on April 1 against American at 5:00 pm for a key Patriot League contest.

# GO NAVY #