No. 12 Hartwick Blasts Bucknell University 16-7 to Reach 2011 CWPA Eastern Championship Semifinals

Charlottte Mensink

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Shannon Leonard (Jr., Pointe Claire, Quebec) scored six times to earn Player of the Game honors and power the No. 12-nationally ranked Hawks of Hartwick College to a commanding 16-7 victory over Bucknell University at the 2011 CWPA Eastern Championship.  The victory places the Hawks into the tournament semifinals at 5:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 30 versus either host and No. 13-ranked Indiana University or Harvard University.

The Hawks trailed only once in the contest as Hallie Keenan (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) found the back of the cage with 6:43 remaining in the first period for a quick 1-0 Crimson lead.

However, Hartwick responded with in short order with back-to-back-to-back natural strikes by Leonard, Allyssa Analytis (Jr., Montreal, Quebec) and Lily Martinez (So., Commerce, Calif.) at 5:44, 4:50 and 4:06, respectively, to take a 3-1 lead within three minutes of Keenan opening the scoring.

The onslaught continued in the opening frame as Charlotte Mensink (Jr., Nijerdal, Netherlands) rattled the cage with a man-up blast with 59 seconds remaining in the period.  Heather Smith (Fr., Redwood City, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) broke up the Hawks scoring run with a marker of her own with 28 ticks showing on Indiana's new multi-million dollar aquatics scoreboard, but Hartwick got the goal back before the horn with another tally by Analytis to make it 5-2 through eight minutes of play.

Hartwick continued the run to open the second period as Leonard split the Bison defense at 6:03 and 5:01 to convert on even-strength chances and make it 7-2.

Bucknell trimmed its deficit to three by the end of the first half as Julianne Valdes (Fr., Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) drilled a five-meter penalty shot at 1:12 and Krystle Morgan (So., Rowland Heights, Calif./Rosary) cashed in on a man-up chance with 35 seconds remaining to close the gap to 7-4.

However, the Hawks returned from their temporary scoring drought with five markers in the third period and two more to open the fourth period to comprise a 7-0 scoring run to turn a potential Bucknell comeback chance into a runaway victory and return trip to the semifinals.

Trailing 14-4 with 5:44 left on the clock in the fourth period, the Bison were unable to overcome the gap while outscoring Hartwick 3-2 down the stretch to fall by nine goals.

In addition to Leonard, Mensink finished with a hat-trick in addition to pairs of scores by Martinez and Analytis as seven different Hartwick players registered goals.

Morgan led the Bison with two goals as six players scored for Bucknell, while Brittany Connell (Jr., Montebello, Calif./Montebello) registered four saves between the pipes.

Jessica Dorman (Sr., Auckland, New Zealand) netted 12 saves to pick up the victory for Hartwick before leaving with an injury.  Hayley Cox (So., El Segundo, Calif.) finished out the game with three saves over the remainder of the final period.

Bucknell will next be in action at 2:40 p.m. on April 30 against Harvard University with a place in the tournament's fifth place game against either Princeton University or George Washington University on the line.

Hartwick Goals: Shannon Leonard (6); Charlotte Mensink (3); Lily Martinez (2); Allyssa Analytis (2); Lisa Bass; Jemma Dendy Young; Kristen Wagner

Bucknell Goals: Krystle Morgan (2); Hallie Keenan; Kandis Canonica; Mackenzie Ferry; Heather Smith; Julianne Valdes

Saves: Hartwick - Jessica Dorman (12, 28:16), Hayley Cox (3, 3:44) ; Bucknell - Brittany Connell (4)

Exclusions: Hartwick - 12 ; Bucknell - 7

Advantage Opportunities:  Hartwick - 2-for-7 ; Bucknell - 3-for-12

Sprints: Hartwick - 4-for-4 ; Bucknell - 0-for-4

Cards:

Officials: Val Vasilchikov, Scott Krasinski

Bucknell's Julianne Valdes looks to pass around Hartwick's Sami Capparelli