University of Richmond Athletics
What Wall? Women's Lacrosse 2004 Outlook
02/18/2004 | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 18, 2004
After advancing to the Atlantic 10 Championships for two consecutive years, third-year head coach Sue Murphy and the Spiders are ready to make a run for the 2004 title and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
"Going into now my third season at the University of Richmond...it's time! We have put together a very strong, solid lineup with depth off the bench. Expectations are high with a sense of urgency for NCAA's," Murphy stated. "The team has trained hard and we are starting to utilize our speed in transition to score, not just run. I depend a lot on my four seniors (Berlacher, Bourquin, Cielewich and Purcell) all of which have started and played impacting roles since their freshmen year. Their leadership along with wanting to leave something special behind makes this team tick."
The Spiders compiled a 10-7 overall mark last year and earned a third place Atlantic 10 regular season finish with a 5-2 record. With a difficult non-conference schedule of several nationally-ranked squads, the Spiders strung together an impressive five-game win streak, including victories over state rivals Virginia Tech and William & Mary. Richmond ended its season in the A-10 semi-finals with a loss to Massachusetts.
"After last season's disappointing loss to Massachusetts, when we were ahead 11-4 with eight minutes remaining, we do have a ton to prove. It was, without question, the most devastating loss I have ever been a part of - a loss in which this program has learned a great deal from and made us stronger as a team. We need to prove to ourselves, our conference and the national lacrosse scene that we have worked harder then most and deserve the birth to the NCAA Tournament."
"After that game I met with the 'to be seniors' and told them in no uncertain terms that they needed to take 'ownership of their program'. Already this year, through the good and bad times, they have shown tremendous leadership. They have become leaders who will accept nothing less then what they want and deserve. We need to understand as a program that we cannot just think we deserve the win - we must TAKE it!"
Behind the leadership of seniors Libby Berlacher, Mandy Bourquin, Jen Cielewich and Polly Purcell, the Spiders are eager to return to the lacrosse field and take care of unfinished business.
ATTACK
"We are looking strong in many areas of our game but I am excited to see how we develop on our attack. We have a plethora of talent with players like Purcell and Berlacher, who have already shown that they can score 30 goals or record 30 assists a season, and will expect other experienced players, Cielewich, junior Kristen Habicht and sophomore Allison Nuzzi, to assume a larger role on attack this year.
Richmond returns All-American and last year's leading scorer in Purcell. As a junior, she started all 17 contests and led the Spiders' offensive attack, pacing the team in both goals (44) and assists (24). The two-time All-Atlantic 10 honoree finished tenth in the nation in points per game, averaging 4.0 per outing.
Libby Berlacher returns to the Spiders' attack after finishing second on the team with 37 goals. Starting all 17 games, Berlacher led the conference in ground balls (68) and was named to both the Atlantic 10 All-Conference and All-Championship squads. Berlacher proved to be a consistent scorer for Richmond as she recorded seven hat tricks last year.
Cielewich, Habicht and Nuzzi all proved their offensive ability last season as the trio totaled 24 goals and 11 assists while each made 17 starting appearances.
"We will look different in many ways with improved power, accuracy, stickwork and scoring threats. Our attack could look more experienced if Carline McGuire, Lexi Elliott and Lexie Poklemba can all successfully return from injuries. First year players Ashley Friend and Fe Grumbine have broken the line-up and will offer a new dimension with athleticism and skill. Mary Colleen Buettner and Morghan Vahue saw a lot of time this fall and will strengthen our attack.
"I believe it will be very difficult to shut us down on attack - some might feel that if they take out Purcell and L. Berlacher that our attack will suffer, but bluntly - they love to develop and the others will put lots of balls in the net. We are very skilled and this should prove to be a consistent year for us in the areas of shooting percentage and teamwork."
DEFENSE
Seniors Mandy Bourquin, both of which will have top mark-down responsibilities, will anchor the Spiders' defense.
Cielewich, who is also expected to contribute on the offensive end of the field, started all 17 games last season and finished third on the team in caused turnovers. Bourquin returns after playing a key role for the Spiders last year.
"It's great to have a group of defenders that have now played alongside one another for enough time to feel the intensity of a defensive cohesive unit. That is what we have and we will make defense a huge factor in our team goals this year."
Juniors Jodi Brown and Habicht as well as freshman Meghan Riedy should prove to be stellar as Purcell and L. Berlacher help them to get in on defense. Redshirt freshman Jackie Swansburg will be in goal for Richmond. Swansburg made three appearances last season before suffering an injury and missing the remainder of the year.
Junior Kristy Fairhurst and sophomore Kristen Berlacher will both see valuable minutes with supporting defensive roles from Christina D'Angelo, Sloan DeVilbiss and Kirby Thalenberg. Coming back from injury and fighting for minutes will be junior Ashley Kopack and freshman Sarah Ingle.
"Perhaps our greatest strength the team possesses is speed. But what is great about this squad is the work put into making speed be an asset, not just a strength. We hope to keep the pace of the game going but have full confidence in our slow down attack and our special situations."
"What I see at Richmond are players that push every single day to fight for and keep a starting position. That athleticism has helped motivate our starting lineup as well as our bench. Are we young? A tad, yes, but those young players have the ability to play many minutes and I firmly believe that an unbelievably strong leadership is present in my four captains. These seniors will take 'ownership' of this young squad and Richmond lacrosse will again be a threat in the both the conference and country."
