Sept. 7, 2009
Final Stats
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - After 100 minutes could not decide a victor, all it took was five penalty stroke rounds of adept shooting by the Siena field hockey team as the Saints snapped an 11-game non-conference losing streak by defeating visiting UC Davis 2-1 this afternoon at Siena Turf Field. Mackenzie Smith's goal in the final round of the shootout clinched the win for Siena.
UC Davis (3-1) kicked off the scoring in the 14th minute when a feed from the top of the circle by Kristen Lopez found the stick of Liz Siemion. Siemion then stick handled, spun and fired a shot past Siena goalie Renee Clavette for the 1-0 lead.
But Siena (1-2) would answer back in the 33rd minute following a nifty individual effort from senior captain Andrea Caso. The Saints' midfielder took off down the middle with a burst of speed, deked two defenders and fired home her first goal of the season from the top of the circle.
The teams continued to battle it out during the remainder of regulation and a pair of thrilling overtime periods, but despite numerous scoring opportunities for both sides, it came down to the shootout.
Each of Siena's first two shooters, Jenna Gifford and Raenee Ritter, scored while each of the Aggies first two shooters, Rachel Sabes and Ellre Ancheta, were stopped thanks to near identical sprawling saves to her right from Clavette.
Caso and Rebecca Nieb would miss the Saints' next two opportunities as a successful conversion by UC Davis' Marissa Hughes cut the shootout deficit to 2-1 heading into the fifth and final round. With a chance to clinch victory, Smith got Aggies' goalie Lauren Sawvelle to guess wrong and struck a shot into the open side of the goal to seal the win by capturing the shootout, 3-1.
The victory for the Saints was their first non-conference triumph since a 1-0 win over Fairfield on Senior Day, Oct. 12, 2007 in Loudonville against Fairfield.
UC Davis out-shot the Saints 27-16, with Siena holding the upper hand in penalty corners taking 15 to the Aggies' nine.
Clavette was outstanding in goal, amassing a career-high 17 saves, while most importantly making several key stops in each overtime period on breakaways in addition to her pair of key saves during the shootout.
Freshman defender Kyla Dickson also played an integral part in the win, contributing multiple outstanding defensive plays during both overtime periods, including a defensive save that kept the game alive. Offensively, Dickson contributed four shots which was the second most on the team, trailing Caso's six.
Hughes and Sabes each posted six shots for the Aggies which suffered its first loss since reinstating its field hockey program. Additionally, Sawvelle made four saves in total plus two more stops during the shootout for a UC Davis team playing its third game on a seven-game, 10-day east coast swing.
The Saints return to action when they open a four-game road trip Wednesday at Cornell. Game time is slated for 4 p.m.
