University of Richmond
West Chester
No. 11 Field Hockey Pummels West Chester, 8-1
10/16/2004 | Field Hockey
Oct. 16, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The 11th-ranked Richmond field hockey squad posted seven unanswered-goals Saturday afternoon to top West Chester, 8-1, in front of 243 fans. The win at Richmond's Crenshaw Field gives the Spiders an 11-2 overall mark and an unblemished record of 3-0 in the conference. The Golden Rams fall to 2-12 on the season and 1-2 in the Atlantic 10.
"We played a really good team game," head coach Ange Bradley said. "We stepped to the plate and played for each other. The result was due to a great team effort all around."
Richmond took its first lead on a penalty stroke at the 15:17 mark. Junior Michelle La Force was called on for her first goal of the season, helping put the Spiders up 1-0. A little over a minute later Sarah Mizenko helped West Chester get on the board. Mizenko moved in and out of a crowd at the top of the circle before taking a shot which trickled past UR's Michelle Swartz to tie the game, 1-1.
Junior Holly Cram allowed the tie to last only 17 seconds when she attacked from the center of the circle to put home the eventual game-winner. Richmond went on to post two more goals in the first half, outshooting the Golden Rams 23-2 in the first half.
Junior Allie Howard pushed the score to 3-1 when she redirected a shot from a penalty corner for her fifth of the season. Freshman Shannon Taylor added Richmond's fourth goal at the 29:42 mark on a penalty corner, using assists from Howard and La Force.
West Chester's goalkeeper Carrie Hanshue, forced to fend off numerous first-half attacks from the Spiders, finished the first 35 minutes with 14 saves, and a total of 20 stops in the game.
Just over three minutes into the second half, Cram posted her second goal of the game when she converted an unassisted shot after a blown corner. Cram attacked and squirted the ball through the WCU keeper's legs. Sophomore Amanda Florio pushed the lead to 6-1 at the 47:59 mark on an unassisted goal from the left side. Florio has now scored four times in 2004.
Richmond added another of its five goals off the corner at the 50:52 mark when Cram, Howard and La Force converted the push and shot. Freshman Tara Kelly rounded out the scoring for the Spiders at the 57:58 point when she deflected an initial shot from Cram for her fourth goal of the season.
Richmond's Michelle Swartz, finished the contest with one save and one goal allowed for her 11th win of the season. Sophomore Sarah Abboud also saw 11:43 minutes of action as the Spiders' goalkeeper late in today's contest.
The Spiders now have won their last 16 regular season A-10 contests and their last 19 Atlantic 10 games including tournament matches.
The Spiders return to Crenshaw Field tomorrow, Oct. 16, when they host La Salle. Game time is scheduled for noon.
