No. 10 Spiders To Host Rider In NCAA Play-In Match
11/08/2004 | Field Hockey
Nov. 8, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The 10th-ranked Spider Field Hockey squad will host Rider (18-2), the Northeastern Conference Champions, Tuesday, Nov. 9 in an NCAA Play-In match in Richmond, Va. The game, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Crenshaw Field on the Richmond campus, will mark the third consecutive time the Spiders have hosted an NCAA Play-In match at Crenshaw Field, and the second time in three years Richmond has faced Rider in the game.
 Richmond won its third-consecutive Atlantic 10 Championships title Saturday in Amherst, Mass.  |
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Junior Holly Cram, the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year, has scored 28 goals in 2004, including three in the A-10 Tournament. Cram leads the team with 64 points on 28 goals and eight assists. Prior to the A-10 Championships she was ranked third in the nation in points (57) and second nationally in points per game (3.35). Cram has scored at least one goal in the 11 matches for the Spiders, including multiple goals in seven of Richmond's last eight games.
Junior Allie Howard, the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, is coming off an impressive Atlantic 10 Tournament. Selected as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, she recorded an assist in the Spiders' first round win then scored two goals and had an assist in the Championship Final. Howard is tied for the team lead with 10 assists on the season and ranks fourth on the team in goals (7).
Junior goalkeeper Michelle Swartz continued her outstanding play over the weekend. The Severna Park, Md., native allowed only one goal, snapping a streak of 390 scoreless minutes in goal. Swartz has only allowed 12 goals this season for a goals-against average of 0.65. Entering the tournament Swartz ranked second in the nation with a goals-against average of 0.67. The keeper also established a single-season shutout mark for Richmond by garnering her 10th shutout of the season against Temple Friday night. Prior to Friday, Richmond's single-season shutout record was nine, established in 2002 by Swartz, who was a freshman.
 The Spiders won their final home game, 5-0, and limited Appalachian State to just one shot. Richmond also unveiled its new hockey scoreboard. |
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Following the game Tuesday, the Spiders will await to find out their fate in the NCAA Tournament's 16-team field. College Sports Television will exclusively present the first-ever NCAA Field Hockey Championship Selection Show at 7 p.m., Tuesday evening. The show will also be streamed live online at CollegeSports.com.