Nov. 18, 2006

From NCAASports.com

GENEVA, N.Y. (www.ncaasports.com) - Senior forward Molly Stevens (Hummelstown, Pa.) tipped home a cross by junior forward Lindsay Cappa (Oley, Pa.) with just over 19 minutes remaining in regulation to lift Ursinus College to a 3-2 victory over Messiah College in the 2006 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship on William Smith College's McCooey Field. Cappa was the game's high-scorer, netting the Bears' first two goals before setting up Stevens.

Cappa, who scored the game-winner in yesterday's 3-2 semifinal win over Lebanon Valley, dribbled into the circle from the right wing and sent a pass across the face of the goal that Stevens timed perfectly, getting to the ball just as it reached the mouth of the goal, tipping home her fourth goal of the season. The tally capped a furious start to the second half that saw Ursinus outshoot Messiah 7-0.

After the match, Stevens shared the credit for the victory with her teammates.

"It's certainly both ends of the field," Stevens said "It's not just the goals that mattered. It was a team effort today.

"Everyone says it's the game-winner, but if the other two didn't happen we wouldn't have won the game so I think they're all game-winners," she replied when asked about scoring the game-winner in the postgame press conference.

Ursinus' defense made the goal stand up, allowing just one shot on goal down the stretch. Junior goalie Jess Lamina (Doylestown, Pa.) turned that one aside, finishing with two saves in the victory.

With the match barely six minutes old, Messiah (18-5) opened the fast-paced scoring of the first half when sophomore forward Tiffany Leatherman (Telford, Pa.) finished a feed from junior forward Lisa Strausbaugh (Mechanicsburg, Pa.).

Less than two minutes later, Cappa got the Bears on the board, flicking a ball towards the cage that deflected off a defender's stick and in for her 11th goal of the year. Ursinus seized the lead in the 18th minute when Cappa's second shot of the game deflected off of first-year goalie Ashley Mowery's (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) pads and found the back of the cage. Mowery recorded seven saves, including six after halftime.

The Falcons equalized in the 29th minute on a penalty corner. Junior forward Lindsey Hunter (Unity, Maine) sent the corner to junior forward Lindsey Garber (Ephrata, Pa.) at the top of the circle. Garber dribbled to her left and sent a return pass to Hunter at the left side of the cage. Hunter slipped her shot inside the near post for her team-leading 19th goal of the season.

Cappa, Lamina, senior midfielder Allison Doutt (Willow Street, Pa.), and senior defender Karen Wendler (Burlington, N.J.) all earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, as did Messiah's first-year defender Mary Hoover (Mount Joy, Pa.), first-year midfielder Emily Sauder (Reinhold, Pa.), and Hunter.

A first-time national champion, Ursinus' thrill of victory was in stark contrast to Messiah's agony of defeat. The Falcons were making their sixth NCAA final appearance and for the sixth time had to settle for second place.