PITTSBURGH, PA. -- Player of the Game Mary Elizabeth Ward (So., San Rafael, Calif.) scored four times for No. 7-ranked/Northwest Division Champion the University of Washington as the Huskies collected an 8-4 victory against No. 19/New England Division Champion Dartmouth College in the Seventh Place game of the 2017 Women's National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Pittsburgh's Joe C. Trees Pool.
The champion of the first National Collegiate Club Championship in 2000 with a 7-6 overtime victory against Michigan State University at the University of Arizona, Washington added to its legacy and tallied its second consecutive Seventh Place mark after previous First (2000), Sixth (2003), Seventh (2016) and Eighth (2004) placements at the tournament.
Ward placed the Huskies in front to stay in the first quarter by putting away even-strength opportunities with 1:37 and 29 seconds on the clock for a 2-0 lead after seven minutes of action.
She completed a hat-trick with 3:47 to go in the second quarter by lining in a five-meter penalty shot prior to Karli Stevenson (Fr., Tacoma, Wash.) burying a natural tally at 2:06 to expand Washington's lead to 4-0 by halftime.
Jessie Jones (Jr., El Dorado Hills, Calif.) put Dartmouth on the board 52 seconds into the third quarter prior to Lauren Hickey (Gr., Palos Verdes, Calif.) answering 27 seconds later to set the scoreboard at 5-1 with 5:41 remaining in the frame. Jones closed out the quarter by finishing on a man-up chance at the 59 seconds mark as the Big Green pulled to within 5-2.
However, Jalene Weatherholt (So., San Jose, Calif.) enlarged the lead to 6-2 45 seconds into the fourth quarter. PJ Bigley (Sr., Redwood City, Calif.) and Meghan Christie (Sr., San Anselmo, Calif.) swished even-strength (5:41) and penalty (3:59) shots, respectively, to shrink the gap between the programs down to 6-4, but Washington expanded the margin back to four at 8-4 by the final horn as Ward (3:37) and Hickey (1:57) closed out the scoring.
For the Huskies, Hickey finished with two goals, while Stevenson and Weatherholt accounted for solo strikes. Lizzy Lipps (Sr., Menlo Park, Calif.) earned the win with nine saves.
Jones keyed the Dartmouth attack with two goals to accompany single scores by Christie and Bigley. Adina Harri (Jr., Starksville, Miss.) took the loss with six saves as the Big Green added an Eighth Place finish to a record that includes previous Second (2004, 2005), Third (2003), Fifth (2002), Seventh (2012), 10th (2011), 12th (2007) and 13th (2009, 2014, 2015) Place finishes at the Women's National Collegiate Club Championship.
Dartmouth Goals: Jessie Jones (2); Meghan Christie; PJ Bigley
Washington Goals: Mary Elizabeth Ward (4); Lauren Hickey (2); Karl Stevenson; Jalene Weatherholt
Saves: Dartmouth - Adina Harri (6) ; Washington - Lizzy Lipps (9)
Exclusions: Dartmouth - 2 ; Washington - 5
Advantage Opportunities: Dartmouth - 2-for-5 ; Washington - 1-for-2
Sprints: Dartmouth - 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) ; Washington - 1-for-4 (3rd)
Cards: None
Officials: Tiffany Urbanski, Nikola Malezanov