Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. - #7 Lebanon Valley moved on to the NCAA Second Round for the fourth consecutive year, overwhelming Wittenberg, 9-0, in first-round play Wednesday.
The Dutchmen (18-3) will move on to face #8 Rowan, which received a first-round bye, on Saturday at 2 p.m., at Messiah. The win over the Tigers (12-6) was the biggest ever for LVC in the NCAA Tournament, besting last year's 6-0 shutout of New England.
Jocelyn Novak scored a hat trick, her second in three career NCAA games, to tie her own program record for goals in a season at 32, while
Shelly Lobach and
Caitlin Vasey each added a pair of goals.
Allison Bicher and
Danielle Blase also scored as LVC held a 32-4 shots advantage.
Lobach put LVC on top just 2:44 in the game, collecting her own rebound off Jenny Schaafsma's pads to score unassisted. Vasey did likewise a 7:51, taking a rebounded Lobach shot and burying the finish to go up 2-0, and the freshman scored a beautiful goal with her back to the cage at 15:49 off
Jenni Walker's pass.
Lobach tallied again just after the half at 37:43, getting loose on an open run and beating the goalkeeper on an angle, and Bicher added another goal 59 seconds later after Vasey poked a pass out of a scramble.
Novak then added a natural hat trick with three goals in less than 12 minutes. Her first was a one-timed volley in mid-air of
Avery Carter's cross, and her second came on a redirect of
Nikki Bomberger's shot from the arc. The sophomore's third goal, her 32nd of the season, came off
Kelsey Miller's long cross from the right side at 55:14.
Blase finished off the scoring with just 42 seconds remaining, blasting a shot from the arc.
Schaafsma made 15 saves for Wittenberg, and Kelley Herde had a defensive save.
Caitlin Baro had to earn the shutout with three saves, including some dangerous chances for the Tigers midway through the first half. Boo Vernon had all four of the Tigers' shots.
LVC held a 13-3 corners advantage.
Game Notes
Lebanon Valley improved to 17-15 in the NCAA Tournament and 9-2 in the first round ... It was the second NCAA match-up between LVC and Wittenberg; the Dutchmen won 4-1 in the 1997 first round ... LVC will face Rowan in the second round, the third NCAA match-up between the two. Rowan (then called Glassboro State) won, 1-0, in double overtime in the 1992 first round, and LVC won 1-0 in penalty strokes the next year in the first round ... LVC and Rowan have never met other than those two games ... It is LVC's fourth straight second-round appearance and 13th overall ... It will be LVC's third game this year on Messiah's field ... It was the 12th NCAA shutout in program history, and third for goalkeeper Caitlin Baro ... Baro has 21 career shutouts ... In addition to tying her own season goals record, Novak is a point short of her record in that category with 67 ... Novak extended her consecutive-game scoring streak to 14 ... Vasey also continued her hot streak, and has 19 points in her last five games.
