Just 12 days ago, Tiffin University suffered a tough loss to a poised and disciplined Lake Erie team 15-9, a loss that knocked the Dragons out of the hunt for the regular season GLIAC title.
The rematch proved to be somewhat different.
The Dragons, exhibiting more poise over 60 minutes and riding the tenacious wave of determination that is Alexandria Quast, defeated Lake Erie 13-11 at Grand Valley State in the GLIAC Semifinals, sending TU to the GLIAC Championship game Sunday, May 5 at 1 pm against the winner of Grand Valley State/Notre Dame.
Quast, who seems to raise the bar with each game she plays, set two more milestones in the game. Her 9 goals shattered the NCAA Division II single season goal record of 93 set by West Chester's Kathleen Sheehan in 2004, giving her 99 for the season. Along with her one assist in the game, Quast accumulated 10 more points, moving her back into first place in NCAA Division II history in career points with 402. No other player in Division I or II history has scored more goals. If Quast tallies one more goal, she will become only the eighth player in NCAA history to score 100 goals in a season.
And the win also guaranteed the Dragons would finish with a winning record for the first time in their young program's history.
Tiffin's only other points on the day came from Emily Roussel, who tallied the other four goals. But the win was definitely a team effort for the Dragons, as Katelyn Hill grabbed 8 ground balls and dominated on the draw with 10. The draw control margin was critical for the Dragons, as they won 18 of the 26 draws and were able to keep possession and patiently execute their offense just enough to keep the clock moving in their favor.
The Dragons opened in a 3-1 hole but then rebounded to score the next three goals and take a 4-3 lead at the 19:36 mark of the first half. But then the Dragons started to falter, as careless turnovers plagued them over the next 15 minutes. The Storm capitalized by scoring four of the next five goals, taking a 7-6 lead into the halftime break.
The Dragons put their problems behind them, however, storming out of the break with four straight goals to take a 10-7 lead with 22:48 left to play.
Lake Erie picked up two goals to close the gap to 10-9 but the Dragons again held their composure, rattling off three more goals to push their lead to 13-9 with 9:33 remaining.
Avoiding careless turnovers down the stretch, the team also benefited from the phenomenal play of goalkeeper Jessica Bombard, who registered 12 saves over 60 minutes, including a number of point blank stops that caused the Dragons fans in attendance to erupt each time. The Dragons, who watched 12 days ago as the clock worked against them, this time were able to turn the tables on the Storm, who did not have enough time to erase the deficit.
