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| Amanda Artman and Emma Dahmus of Juniata battle for possession during Wednesday's NCAA Tournament action. |
WOOSTER, Ohio – A three-goal flurry during an 8:09 stretch early in the second half turned an otherwise evenly-played match-up between The College of Wooster and No. 16 ranked Juniata College into a 3-0 win for the visiting Eagles Wednesday afternoon on Andrew Turf Field at John P. Papp Stadium, as they advanced out of the NCAA Div. III Field Hockey Championships first round.
Juniata (18-4) will next face No. 2 Ursinus College (18-1) on Saturday, while Wooster's season comes to an end at 16-6, its third in a row with at least 16 wins.
The teams played to a scoreless tie during the opening 35 minutes, which was highlighted by a couple of defensive saves from Nina Dine and Lauren Grimanis. First, Dine thwarted an Eagles' run inside the circle, stopping a ball near the right post about five minutes into the action. A little more than two minutes later, Juniata came up with possession during a scramble in front of the cage, only to be denied by Grimanis.
That early push resulted in the Fighting Scots being outshot 6-1 over the first 7:30, but they weathered the storm and the rest of the first half was back-and-forth as the Eagles only took four more attempts, compared to Wooster's three.
The first five minutes of the second were quiet, with neither squad getting off a shot, but then suddenly Juniata got hot. First, Emma Dahmus collected a loose ball in the circle and fired one towards the cage that deflected through a couple of defensive players and in for the 1-0 lead.
About six minutes later, the Eagles earned a penalty corner, which saw Scot goalie Liz Plumley come up with an initial save, however, Kim Amrod was positioned at the left post to slap in the rebound. Less than two minutes had passed before Juniata produced a golden opportunity, as Wooster was whistled for an infraction that resulted in a penalty stroke and Shauna Deschenes converted to make it 3-0 with 21:11 remaining.
The Scots would attempt to respond, working for a series of corners. They finished with 11 corners to Juniata's eight.
For Wooster, it marks the end for one of the top senior classes in school history – Amanda Artman, Eileen Barrer, Dine, Stephanie Standera, and Kate Valora. Artman finishes her remarkable career as the fourth-leading scorer in Div. III history with 257 points coming on 104 goals, which ties for the fifth-most in that category, and 49 assists. Barrer complemented Artman up front and ranks third in team history with 126 points, including 51 goals. Standera and Valora started all four years in the midfield, and Dine played an integral role in the backfield throughout her career.