Tide Swings After Gophers Forced to Play Man Down

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the 64 minutes and change that it was 11 v 11, the scoreboard showed Goucher ahead 1-0. But from the time one of head coach Tati Korba's players was assessed her second yellow card and the Gophers were forced to play a man down the rest of the way this afternoon, Catholic, which began the day tied with Scranton for first place in the Landmark Conference, piled on five unanswered goals to claim a 5-1 victory.

Theresa Antkowiak-Tassone (Towson, Md./Loch Raven) put Goucher up 1-0 when she tallied her fourth goal of the season just 13:06 into the contest.

It stayed 1-0 in favor of the Gophers (7-5, 1-3 Landmark) even when the Cardinals (11-2, 4-0 Landmark) were awarded a penalty kick in the 61st minute, but Lindsay Aleman's attempt was unsuccessful thanks to a save by Juliana Harkavy (Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway).

It would be Aleman that managed to tie the score, though, as she notched her 12th goal of the season at 66:59, less than three minutes after second caution, subsequent red card and immediate ejection left Goucher with only nine field players.

It would take Catholic nearly 10 more minutes to take the lead, which it did on a goal bt Taylor Pisk at 76:49.

The Cardinals tacked on three insurance goals once there were fewer than 10 minutes left to be played, including another by Aleman.

"This was a great game for about 65, close to 70 minutes," commented Korba. "Juliana Harkavy saved her third penalty kick in conference this season, and we applied great pressure on a good Catholic team. The red card against us really changed the outcome of this game. We are so proud of this team and our best is yet to come."

Harkavy finished with nine saves.

The Gophers face another road test in the Landmark Conference this Saturday when they invade Madison, N.J. to take on Drew at 3:30 p.m.