April 30, 2006
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA- Kelly Mulford landed the game-winning score from a free position shot as the Dukes took a 12-11 win the final seconds in Philadelphia in DU's season finale. Mulford and Meredith Williams led the Dukes with three goals each while Kathleen McNish added two assists. Meredith Norris recorded eight saves.
The hard fought game featured various ties and lead changes, with neither team leading by more than two goals at any given point. Duquesne ends its season with an 11-5 record and went 4-3 in the A-10 under first year head coach Mike Scerbo. The Dukes finied tied for fourth in the Conference with UMass, but lost the tie-breaker and the chance for an A-10 tourney berth after suffering a loss at UMass on Friday.
Meredith Williams struck first for the Dukes, taking a pass from Kathleen McNish at 27:52. Corey Leader answered with a free position goal just one minute later to make it 1-1. Ashley Wood gave Duquesne a 2-1 advantage at 25:43 but it was shortlived as Richards tied the game yet again at 24:02. The Owls went ahead 4-2 with goals by Leader and Johna Capaldo but the Dukes scored three straight goals, including two within 40 seconds of one another, to take a 5-4 advantage at the half.
Richards tied the game at five with a free position goal at 25:59 but Duquesne's Caroline Gallagher put her team back on top 20 seconds later, thanks to a pass from McNish. Temple answered with two straight goals by Casey Cech and Leader to take a 7-6 lead at 23:50 and it seemed that the pendulum was about to swing in the Owls' favor. The Dukes thought otherwise and rallied to take a 9-7 lead at 14:43. Richards fed a pass to Cech and then scored one of her own to tie the game at 9 with just under 12 minutes to play. McNish converted a free position shot at 8:41 to give Duquesne a slight edge but Temple answered with two straight goals to put it back on top, 11-10, at 6:20. Williams found the back of the net at 4:51 to tie the game at 11. As time ticked away, it seemed that the game was headed for overtime. Both teams fought hard to keep possession and with one minute remaining, the Dukes were able to pick the ball away from Temple. DU raced down the field and as the defense closed in, Kelly Mulford was able to draw the foul and earn a free position. The senior attacker scored the game winner with just 9.7 seconds remaining on the clock, leaving little time for Temple to answer.
