University of Richmond
No. 10 Virginia
No. 11 Field Hockey Tops No. 10 Cavaliers, 2-1
09/15/2004 | Field Hockey
Sept. 15, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The 11th-ranked Spiders scored goals in the early portion and late portion of their match against No. 10 Virginia to come away with the win, 2-1, Wednesday night. The victory, in front of 263 fans at Crenshaw Field, moved Richmond's record to an unblemished 5-0, while the Cavaliers fell to 5-2.
"We had good team effort and hard work tonight," head coach Ange Bradley said. "We are determined to move forward. UVA is always great competition for us and our kids came to play today."
Just 6:45 into the game Richmond used its first penalty corner opportunity to take a 1-0 lead. After the push in, junior Allie Howard gathered junior Holly Cram's rebound to put home her second goal of the season.
Richmond was on the attack for much of the first half including a flurry of corners at the 26 minute mark which resulted in five shots, but no goals. The Spiders kept UVA's Logan Carr busy in goal, out-shooting the Cavaliers 18-6 in the first half.
After the intermission Richmond remained on the attack, registering 10 shots to Virginia's one over the last 35 minutes. The Cavaliers, however, capitalized on their one shot, knotting the game at 1-1 at the 48:26 mark. Off an injury restart, Virginia went on a breakaway down the left side before Lindsey Selfridge lifted a ball in the circle which caught the stick of Mia Link for the score.
Richmond rebounded with four more corners in the second half, but could not get a shot past Carr until the 65th minute as freshman Shannon Taylor, the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, went on an attack from the left side. She moved inside the circle and took a hard angle shot to beat Carr underneath to the bottom right corner. The goal marked Taylor's third of the season and the first game-winner of her career.
"This game has become a rivalry for us," Bradley said. "I told (the team) to just keep shooting (at halftime). I think we dominated the game today. Their goalkeeper played great, fortunately we got one at the end."
Junior Michelle Swartz picked up her fifth consecutive win of the season, stopping four UVA shots. The Severna Park, Md., native now carries a save percentage of .842 and a goals against average of 0.77.
The Spiders continue their busiest stretch of the season Saturday, Sept. 18, when they travel to Washington, D.C., for a match against No. 13 American at 2 p.m. Richmond then returns to Crenshaw Field the following day, Sept. 19, to face Towson at 2 p.m.
