Sweet Briar, VA—As the dust settled and the sun set on the lacrosse field at Sweet Briar College yesterday, the alumnae made off with an overtime win, 11-10. Precise statistics were unavailable, and will doubtless remain that way until they are embellished sometime next spring, but indications were that Karen Gonya Nickles '86 scored her first collegiate goal sometime during regulation play. Said Nickles regarding her accomplishment, "I've played in the shadow of these All-Americans for years, and feel I am just coming into my own." All-American Katie Hearn commented, "The only shadow she has played in is her own."
Varsity coach Emily Fitzpatrick '07 claimed she had a secret play that could have carried the day for her team, but did not find it until after Mary Carroll Via Cuoco '87 zipped in the game-winner 35 seconds into overtime. Cuoco scored three in the game and had an assist. New Old Girls Maria Kitchin '04, Anne Benham '04, Kylene Smith '03 and Anne Bostain '03 added needed stamina to the team. Kitchin, on holiday from her position coaching girls' lacrosse in London, claimed at the start of the game that she was "a little nervous" but rallied quickly. Benham popped in three and varsity coach Melissa Jill Ackerman '87 tallied four assists. Katie Hearn '85, playing in pink, green and Marlboro Red, scored twice, and with classmate Anne Martin Gonya, played the role of senior citizen to the hilt. Goalkeeper Brook Rinehart Dunn '88 made six saves including one somewhere near the end of regulation that saved the day.
Texan Shannon Wood Bush '87 played at least three positions on defense that she can remember, guided from the sidelines by injured reserve Madge Hall Vosteen '85. Vosteen, recovering from a 10 K race on Saturday, will be reactivated sometime in 2008, and was assisted on the sidelines by Chris Svoboda '84.
Former varsity coach Jennifer Crispen said of her Old Girls, " They are still rushing their passes through the midfield and seeing opportunities that just are not there. Of course, those that are here today were the ones who did pass the ball when they played, and I expect it will all come back to them eventually."
The Old Girls were sponsored by Fauerbach Brewery of Wisconsin.
