Shannon Strawinski '19 almost single-handedly brought the No. 3/3 nationally-ranked Soaring Eagles back from a two-goal deficit to beat archnemesis Plattsburgh State by a 3-2 score in double-overtime on Friday night. The junior from Toms River, New Jersey, scored all three Elmira goals for her first-ever hat trick and just the third multi-goal game of her career in what will go down as one of the best individual performances in one of the greatest NCAA Tournament games ever played.
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The Soaring Eagles entered the third period with their backs against the wall, down 2-0 to a No. 2/1-ranked Plattsburgh team that entered the weekend with a 24-0-1 record when scoring the first goal and a 20-0-1 record when leading after two periods. Strawinski sparked the come-from-behind victory by tallying her first goal at the 3:06 mark of the third period. Then with 4:07 remaining in regulation, she re-directed a Rachel Grampp '18 slap shot into the back of the net to level the score at 2-all, breathing new life into the Purple and Gold.  Both the Soaring Eagles and Cardinals had numerous chances to win the national semifinal in overtime, but it took 35:10 before Strawinski beat Plattsburgh goalie Brooke Wolejko to the near post with a wrister from the right-wing side.
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The natural hat trick earned Strawinski a spot on the 2018 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. She finished her junior campaign third on the team in points with a career-high 34 (13g-21a), more than her freshman and sophomore seasons combined.
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