Lacrosse Remained Undefeated In 2005 Fall Season
10/31/2005 | Women's Lacrosse
Oct. 31, 2005
University of Richmond, Va. - The University of Richmond women's lacrosse team finished their fall season with the best record in Spider history (5-0), defeating national runner-up University of Virginia (9-8) for the first time ever, in addition to beating in-state rivals Virginia Tech (19-5), Longwood (19-8), JMU (11-5), and William and Mary (8-7). Head Coach Sue Murphy is ecstatic about the accomplishments of her team this fall and hopes that the fall success in an indicator of what the spring will bring.
"I have never coached a team that has started out this strong," stated Murphy. "This gives us great momentum and confidence going into our spring season and our opening match with Top Ten opponent Duke in February 2006."
Murphy attributes the team's achievements this fall to an outstanding group effort. "Everyone on the team contributed this fall. We have a small team of 21 players, but everyone made an impact and Richmond is more competitive than ever."
Junior Ashley Friend led the team in scoring this fall, followed closely behind by senior Caroline McGuire. "Our whole attack is a threat, so it opens up a lot of opportunities for everyone and makes us that much stronger," McGuire said. Other leaders on attack include sophomores Claire Cuniff and Jenna Hubbard, as well as junior Morghan Vahue, who recorded number of assists this fall.
Freshman Mandy Friend fit in quickly putting in goals in all five games for the Spiders. Fe Grumbine returned to the field quickly from an injury to instantly help her team. Lexi Marrocco and Sarah Townsend both swung right into their roles on attack and learned immediately what it took to vie for minutes for the reigning A-10 champions. Sara Allen, another senior leader for the team, sat out in the fall due to injury, but will return for the spring.
In the midfield, the Spiders were led by Alli Nuzzi who proved to be capable of handling the ball off the draw and into attack, as well as freshman Katie Smullen who came into the UVA game late in the second half and won the draw that led to the Spiders' winning goal.
The Spiders' defense is returning all of its starters from last year and proves to be continuing its success by only allowing five goals in two of the fall games. "Our defense feels better than ever and we work great as a team," senior goalie Jackie Swansburg said. "I trust anyone in front of me covering anyone in the country and we are going to do big things this year."
In front of Swansburg are juniors Megan Riedy and Christina D'Angelo who have both improved their defensive and midfield game since last year. Starting for the sophomores are Sam Tract and Erin Kennedy who are both returning in 2005 just as solid as they were last spring and capable of top mark-down responsibilities. Junior Sarah Ingle started out the season as an impact defender but could not finish due to injury.
Zara Nematollahi continued to be the pesky tenacious defender she always has been, but has really improved her stick skills and transitional defense, and will make a huge difference for the Spiders in the spring. Junior Kirby Thalenberg stepped into a huge role in the William and Mary game and helped shut down her opponent in the crucial last seconds of the game. Freshman Jackie Blucher fit right in to the Spider defense understanding defensive concepts and making big plays for the red and blue.
"We built a solid foundation for the spring season and I have witnessed this unit take ownership of the program. The leadership in captains, Caroline McGuire, Alli Nuzzi and Jackie Swansburg, is sure to bring good things to the field," commented Coach Murphy. "Our goals are lofty but doable this spring!"