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Crockett Scores Seven as Wheaton Manages Macalester 14-10 in CWPA Division III Tournament Opening Round
UTICA, N.Y. -- Heather Crockett (So., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) scored seven goals to earn Player of the Game honors, while Emma Higgins (Jr, Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield), Kathryn Sheehy (Fr., Ventura, Calif./Foothill Technology) and Linley Sullivan (Fr., Poway, Calif./Poway) chipped in pairs of markers as Wheaton College managed Macalester College 14-10 in the opening round of the 2010 Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Championship at Utica College.
The game was an offensive shootout between two players as Macalester's Sarah Ellerton (Sr., Suffield, Conn./Suffield Academy) racked up six goals to key the Scots and nearly keep pace with the offensive outburst of Crockett.
Tied 1-1 following a three-on-two counter by Crockett 1:08 into the contest and a putback by Macalester's Catherine Flint (So., Palo Alto, Calif./Henry Gunn) with 5:18 showing on the period clock, Wheaton blew the game open with a 7-0 scoring run capped by a shot by Crockett from eight meters out which went untouched from her hand to the twine to make it 8-1 with 1:51 left in the first half.
Macalester chipped away at the deficit in the final 111 seconds of the second period as Ellerton connected on a shot at 1:30 and Flint cashed in on a man-up opportunity with 33 seconds on the clock for an 8-3 Wheaton lead at the break.
Higgins opened the second half with a rollaway goal just 11 seconds into the third period, but the Scots tallied the next three markers wtih a rollaway by Flint at 6:21 and back-to-back skip shots by Ellerton at even strength (5:08) and a five-meter penalty chance (4:44) to pull to within 9-6.
Needing a burst to hold off the charging Scots, the Thunder boomed out to a 13-6 lead thanks to a long skip shot by Crockett (4:28) and back-to-back counter goals by Sheehy from the left-wing (2:52, 1:33). Ellerton cut into the margin before the end of the period with a strike from the outside on a man-up opportunity (00:36) to make it 13-7 with eight minutes to play.
The Scots' scoring run continued to open the fourth period as Ellerton rifled home a long skip shot (4:42) and Grace Fleming (So., Northampton, Mass./Northampton) uncorked a quick shots from the left-wing (2:41) to pull Macalester to within 13-9.
However, Wheaton's defense, combined with Crockett's seventh goal at the 1:38 mark, were too much to overcome as the Scots could manage Ellerton's sixth score off a long skip shot over the final 90 seconds in falling 14-10 to the Thunder.
Between the pipes, Karalee Angus (Fr., San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) earned the victory making eight saves, while Hannah Strauss-Albee (Fr., Plymouth, Minn./Wayzatta) took the loss with five saves.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| Macalester College | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -- | 10 |
| Wheaton College | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | -- | 14 |
Wheaton Goals: Heather Crockett (7); Emma Higgins (2); Kathryn Sheehy (2); Linley Sullivan (2); Lizzy Akins
Macalester Goals: Sarah Ellerton (6); Catherine Flint (3); Grace Fleming
Saves: Wheaton - Karalee Angus (8) ; Macalester - Hannah Strauss-Albee (5)
Exclusions: Wheaton - 7 ; Macalester - 3
Advantage Opportunities: Wheaton - 0-for-3 ; Macalester - 4-for-7
Sprints: Wheaton - 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd) ; Macalester - 1-for-4 (4th)
