University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
James Madison
No. 12 Field Hockey Blanks James Madison, 2-0
09/26/2004 | Field Hockey
Sept. 26, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Two goals off corners in the second half helped the 12th-ranked Richmond field hockey team top James Madison, 2-0, Sunday afternoon at Crenshaw Field. The win moves the Spiders to 7-2 on the season, and 3-24 in the all-time series with JMU, while the Dukes drop to 2-8 overall.
"The most positive thing about today's game is we finally executed on our corners," head coach Ange Bradley said. "This is also the first time since I have been here we beat JMU and that was huge motivation for us. This is a very good win and a big win for our team."
The Spiders opened the match outshooting the Dukes 10-1 in the first half but could not finish. JMU's Lori Amico stopped all seven shots in her direction, while Richmond failed to net any of its eight penalty corners.
Richmond came out in the second half and kept applying pressure, earning seven corners over the last 35 minutes. After a string of 25 corners for the Spiders without a goal, juniors Allie Howard and Holly Cram ended the streak. Howard pushed in to Cram who was short of the midpoint for a wellplaced ball to the lower right corner. The goal, which proved to be the game-winner, was Cram's first score since netting two against William and Mary, Sept. 12.
Less than a minute later Richmond was awarded another corner and this time Howard scored. The Spiders mishandled the push in but Howard used a loose ball to blast home her third goal of the season and put the Spiders in front 2-0.
Junior Michelle Swartz ended the game with three saves to pick up her fourth shutout of the season and first since Sept. 5 against Syracuse. Swartz now holds a save percentage of .780 and a goal-against average of 1.00.
"This is just a marker for us to keep moving forward and makes us one of the up-and-coming teams in the state of Virginia," Bradley added.
The Richmond win snaps a streak of 14 losses at the hands of James Madison and marks the first win over the Dukes for Bradley.
The Spiders, who just finished a stretch of six game in 14 days, will not see action until next Sunday, Oct. 3, at Princeton. Game time is scheduled for 11 a.m.
