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No. 15 Arizona Stymies No. 17 Middlebury 9-2 for Berth in National Collegiate Club Championship Ninth Place Game
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Jennifer Shah (Sr., Yuma, Ariz.) rifled home four goals, while Ashley Gucinski (Gr., Naperville, Ill.) and Rachel Rodia (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.) pounded in pairs of markers as No. 15 Arizona shutdown No. 17 Middlebury's offense for a 9-2 victory and a berth in the ninth place game at the 2010 National Collegiate Club Championship.
The win advances the Wildcats to a Sunday, April 25 showdown at 10:15 a.m. with the victor of a game between No. 9 Grand Valley State University and No. 12 University of Utah. Middlebury will meet the loser of the GVSU-Utah game at 9:00 a.m. in the 11th place game.
Arizona sealed the victory in the first six minutes of play as Shah zipped shots into the cage at 5:51 and 5:02, Gucinski found the twine with a shot at 1:34 and Patricia White (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) added a score off a five-meter penalty shot at 1:06 to make it 4-0.
The squads exchanged goals in the second period with Middlebury's Lois Parshley (Jr., Portland, Ore.) striking pay-dirt at 1:09 and Gucinski contributing her second strike with 18 seconds left in the half for a 5-1 Wildcats' lead at the break.
Arizona and the Panthers repeated the point-counterpoint style of the second period with Rodia rocketing in a five-meter penalty shot at 4:27 and Sara Black (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) completing Middlebury's scoreboard attack with a tally at the 1:31 mark.
The final seven minutes of play belonged to the Red and Blue as Shah cashed in on back-to-back wide open scoring chances at 5:06 and 3:51 before Rodia ran a shot inside the post and into the netting with 26 ticks on the clock for the seven-goal victory.
A key to the game was the number of ejections as Arizona drew eight kick-outs, converting on two via penalty shots, while Middlebury managed to get three ejections with no convertions.
Between the iron, Ashley Francis (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) and Lindsay Morrison (Gr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) combined for six saves, while Middlebury's Kristen LaPlante (Sr., Suffield, Conn.) deflected five shots for the Panthers.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| No. 17 Middlebury College | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -- | 2 |
| No. 15 University of Arizona | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | 9 |
Arizona Goals: Jennifer Shah (4); Rachel Rodia (2); Ashley Gucinski (2); Patricia White
Middlebury Goals: Lois Parshley; Sara Black
Saves: Arizona - Ashley Francis (1, 7 minutes), Lindsay Morrison (5, 21 minutes) ; Middlebury - Kristen LaPlante (5)
Exclusions: Arizona - 3 ; Middlebury - 8
Advantage Opportunities: Arizona - 2-for-8 ; Middlebury - 0-for-3
Sprints: Arizona - 0-for-4 ; Middlebury - 4-for-4
