University of Richmond Athletics
Women's Soccer Overpowers Fordham, 1-0
10/07/2005 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 7, 2005
Richmond, Va. - The University of Richmond women's soccer team earned its first Atlantic 10 Conference victory of the season Friday night with a 1-0 triumph over the Fordham Rams at First Market Stadium. Richmond senior Hillary Prince scored the game-winning goal and her first goal of the season off of a free kick, ending the Spiders' losing streak.
What started off as a stalemate first half in the rain, turned into a high-energy second half full of drawn out battles for the victory. The Spiders put their best attack forward and came up with 24 shots versus the Rams' seven shots while Richmond keeper Kelly Kolker came up with five saves versus Fordham's Allie Cacciotti's six saves during the game. Although the teams seemed pretty evenly matched and it appeared that the wet evening would end in a draw, all it took was a free kick by Prince from 35 yards out at the 56:30 mark to put the Spiders ahead, giving them the confidence they needed to put the game away.
Richmond head coach Peter Albright was extremely pleased with the outcome of Friday night's match.
"This was an important game for us to win. I'm so proud that we played hard the whole game," commented Albright. "It's important for us not to have voids and flat spots and I'm very pleased that we kept on attacking, creating chances, and putting the pressure on the Rams after we scored the goal. It really kept the pressure off our defense."
Albright commended freshman Sarah Hilt (Richmond, Va.) for her play in the midfield, as well as junior Mairead Gordon (Forest Hill, Md.) for her great job in man-marking the Rams' best player.
The Spiders, now 3-7-2 overall and 1-2-0 in the Atlantic 10, opened conference play last weekend with a 1-0 loss to Duquesne in double overtime and a 3-1 loss to Saint Louis where freshman Susan Boyer (Paolie, Pa.) scored her first collegiate goal, assisted by sophomore Carrie Holland (Pittsfield, Mass.).
Fordham, now 6-6-0 overall and 0-3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference and entered Friday's match after a 4-0 loss to conference opponent Rhode Island and a 1-0 loss to Massachusetts.
Friday's game marked the sixth time the Rams and the Spiders have competed against each other, with the Spiders now holding a 5-1 lead in the series. Last year, the Spiders blanked the Rams 3-0 after Hillary Prince scored one goal off a penalty kick at First Market Stadium.
Currently for the Spiders, freshman Hillary Prince and Susan Boyer (Paoli, Pa.) follow with one goal each.
So far this season, the Spiders have cleared victories with East Carolina, Old Dominion, and, most recently, Fordham, in addition to tying UNLV and West Virginia and experiencing losses to James Madison, Oregon State, Florida Atlantic, Virginia, VCU, Duquesne, and Saint Louis.
The Spiders will return to conference play on Sunday when they host the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at First Market Stadium. Sunday's match will be the Spiders' fifth meeting with the Bonnies with the Spiders holding a 3-1 edge after last year's victory at First Market Stadium where Ali LeVIne scored a goal off a corner kick shortly into the second half. The Bonnies, 1-10-0 overall and 0-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, enter Sunday's contest after a 2-0 loss to Massachusetts and a 4-1 loss to Charlotte.
Albright looks forward to capturing another Atlantic 10 victory with the upcoming match. "St. Bonaventure is a lot like Fordham playing-wise. I think we have a good chance at winning; it should be a close game," stated Albright. "I'm looking forward to it..."
