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Eight is Enough: Taylor Scores Eight as Chatham Downs Utica 15-7 in CWPA Division III Tournament Opener
UTICA, N.Y. -- Sachelle Taylor (So., Brooklyn, N.Y./Holy Childhood) scored eight times to give the Chatham University Cougars all they would need in a 15-7 victory over host Utica College in the opening game of the 2010 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship.
Taylor, who earned Player of the Game honors for her performance, was joined by Paige Dunlap (Jr., Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) and Jenna Luek (Sr., Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) in tallying three or more goals in the contest as the Cougars opened up an 11-3 by halftime and cruised to the eight goal victory.
The key to the game was Chatham’s ability to stifle the Utica man-up offense holding the Pioneers to a zero-for-five performance.
Chatham wasted no time in taking the lead as Dunlop whipped a backhander from two-meters out to make it 1-0 just 57 seconds into the contest. Utica knotted the score with 5:07 left in the opening period as Lisa Torii (So., Rosemont, Ill./St. Viator) found the back of the cage by driving towards the cage and surprising her defender with a quick shot. However, the Chatham offense went back to work while the Cougars’ defense locked down for the remainder of the period.
Luek reignited the Cougars’ scoring attack by whistling an outside shot into the cage at 4:18 before Taylor fed Dunlop on a power-play chance at 2:00 to make it 3-1. Taylor continued the strikes 18 seconds later when she grabbed a steal and out swam the other field players to launch a skip shot which drew nothing by net to make it 4-1 after eight minutes of play.
The lead continued to balloon throughout the second period as the Cougars pushed the margin to 6-1, 10-2 and finally 11-3 by halftime to hold an insurmountable advantage.
For Utica, Amanda Sulicz (Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla./Lake Worth) netted a hat-trick, while Torii chipped in a pair of markers to lead the Pioneers’ offense.
In cage, Allison Bodine (So., Frederick, Pa./Urbana) earned the win with six saves, while Kera Langdon (Jr., Remsen, N.Y./Holland Patent) turned aside seven shots for Utica.
Chatham advances to face No. 1 seed Grove City College at 2:00 p.m., while Utica will meet the loser of a first round game between Washington & Jefferson College and Connecticut College at 6:00 p.m.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| Chatham University | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2 | -- | 15 |
| Utica College | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -- | 7 |
Utica Goals: Amanda Sulicz (3); Lisa Torii (2); Sarah Gross; Alyssa Cortese
Chatham Goals: Sachelle Taylor (8); Paige Dunlap (3); Jenna Luek (3); Selina Breiner
Saves: Utica - Kera Langdon (7) ; Chatham - Allison Bodine (6)
Exclusions: Utica - 5 ; Chatham - 5
Advantage Opportunities: Utica - 0-for-5 ; Chatham - 3-for-5
Sprints: Utica - 4-for-4 ; Chatham - 0-for-4
