Sept. 16, 2009
Final Stats
Siena's offensive exploded for the most goals it has scored in three years, but it was not enough as the Saints fell to Holy Cross 5-4 in double overtime this evening in Worcester, Mass. Senior captain Kristin McGorty led the Saints with four points, moving her into 10th place all-time on the career scoring list.
Holy Cross (1-4) dominated the opening 35 minutes, out-shooting the Saints (1-6) 12-2. but only had one goal to show for it as Renee Clavette was stout again between the pipes recording eight of her 15 saves during the first half. The lone tally came off the stick of forward Rachel Miers just over 10 minutes in.
In the second half, the Siena offense came to life scoring four goals despite just eight shots. The Green and Gold evened the scored at 40:11 when McGorty fired a shot inside the circle that was tipped in by fellow captain Andrea Caso. The tally set off an offensive flurry by both teams in which five goals were scored over a five minute span.
The Saints other captain, Caroline Hunnewell, added her name to the scoresheet just over two minutes later, propelling Siena to a 2-1 lead. Again it was McGorty setting up the score, dribbling in from the top before putting a shot on cage that was deflected in by Hunnewell.
Siena's lead would be short-lived as Holy Cross responded just 44 seconds later on a Kara Gonnerman goal. But in a back and forth battle, the Saints took advantage of the ensuing faceoff as McGorty matriculated down the field and fired home her first goal of the season just 21 seconds later to put Siena back on top, 3-2.
The Saints lead bulged to a seemingly comfortable two-goal cushion at 4-2 just moments later when sophomore back Jenna Gifford cashed in on a penalty stroke for her first career goal. But the lead again would evaporate as Holy Cross answered back once more with a pair of late scores.
Gonnerman netted her second goal of the game at 54:47 and just minutes later Alanna Sikorski scored the equalizer off of a perfectly executed penalty corner to send the game into overtime tied, 4-4.
Siena, playing its third overtime game already this season, controlled the first overtime period notching five shots to the Crusaders none, but Holy Cross goalkeeper Kelly Casey made four of her seven stops in the period to prolong the action to a second overtime session.
In double overtime the momentum shifted back to Holy Cross and with 5:56 remaining in the sudden-victory situation, the Crusaders' Courtney Callahan tipped in a centering feed from Ali Shutt and put it past Clavette for the game-winner.
The Crusaders out-shot the Saints 26-15 and harbored a 12-10 edge in penalty corners as Siena fell to 0-9 all-time against Holy Cross.
With her strong effort, McGorty moved past Traci Baldwin '08 into 10th place on Siena's all-time scoring list with 23 career points. Moreover, McGorty now stands fifth all-time in scoring during the Division I era.
The Saints, which had totaled just four goals over their first six games, recorded its highest goal total since September 29, 2006 when they tallied a 4-0 win against Saint Francis (Pa.). Additionally, it was the most goals scored in a loss by a Siena team since the program turned Division I prior to the 1993 season.
After an 11-day respite, the Saints return home on Sunday, September 27 to host Colgate. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.
