No. 19 Field Hockey To Face Top-Seeded Maryland In NCAA Tournament First Round

Nov. 8, 2005

A Closer Look At The NCAA Tournament's Field of 16
November 12-13, 2005 -- College Park, Md. -- Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex

Scene setter: Richmond will be part of the 2005 NCAA Tournament for the fourth-consecutive season. Nationally ranked at No. 19, The Spiders earned an automatic bid by winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament then topped Sacred Heart, the Northeast Conference Tournament winner, 7-2, Tuesday, Nov. 9 during an NCAA Play-In game in Richmond, Va. Richmond has won its last 11 contests dating back to Oct. 7 against Massachusetts. In the stretch, the Spiders clinched their fourth-straight Atlantic 10 regular season title, their fourth-straight consecutive A-10 Tournament title, moved a win streak against A-10 teams to 33-straight, and outscored their opponents 57-7.

On Tap: Richmond will face top-seeded Maryland Saturday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m. in the first game of the College Park, Md., bracket. The winner of the game will advance to the round of eight and face the winner of the Penn State/American game (2 p.m.) in a game scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.

Richmond in the NCAA Tournament: Richmond is making its fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Spiders' last time in the NCAA's was 2004 when it topped Rider, 6-0, in an NCAA Play-In game at Richmond, then fell 3-0 at top ranked North Carolina in the first round. In 2003, Richmond lost 2-1 to Cal in the Play-In game, but received an at-large bid to play Old Dominion. The Spiders fell 4-2 to the Lady Monarchs in Norfolk, Va. In their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships, Richmond topped Rider, 2-1, in the Play-In game then fell 5-1 to Old Dominion in the first round.

Richmond vs. Maryland: Richmond is 0-14-1 all-time against the Terrapins dating back to 1983. The Terps have outscored the Spiders in those 15 games, 68-10. Eight of the 15 contests have been played at Maryland, the last one coming in the most recent match-up of the two teams in 2000, the year after Maryland won its third National Championship. In that game Richmond fell 7-0.

Records: Richmond is 16-5 after topping Sacred Heart in the NCAA Play-In game Tuesday, Nov. 8 in Richmond, Va. The Spiders went 7-0 in Atlantic 10 action and are currently on an 11-game win streak. Maryland is 19-2 after winning its sixth ACC Championship, and first since 2001. The Terps knocked off an undefeated and top-ranked Wake Forest team 3-2 in the Championship final, Nov. 6.

Rankings: Richmond is ranked 19th in the latest STX/NFHCA Coaches Poll. The Spiders debuted at No. 16, Sept. 20, then fell to 19th after dropping two-straight to ranked opponents. The Spiders later dropped out of the poll after a loss at then-No. 1 Wake Forest. Richmond jumped back into the poll Nov. 1, after a win at then-No. 20 Virginia. Richmond has never been ranked higher than No. 10, the spot it finished in the final poll of 2004. Maryland is the top-ranked team in the Nov. 8 edition of the STX/NFHCA poll after knocking off former No. 1 Wake Forest in the finals of the ACC Championships. The Terrapins received 12 of the 19 first-place votes and a total of 373 points to move up from No. 3 in the Nov. 1 edition of the poll.

Maryland in the NCAA Tournament: Maryland has appeared in 18 NCAA Tournaments all-time. The Terps have won three National Championships and host the first and second rounds for the third-consecutive year. Maryland will also be hosting a regional for the 12th time in 14 years.

NCAA Tournament seeds: Maryland is the tournament's No. 1 seed, and will host one of four regional brackets. In the other four-team bracket on the Maryland half is No. 4 Old Dominion. The Lady Monarchs won the CAA crown, but will play their regional at host Ohio State. Duke will serve as the tournament's three-seed, but play at the Princeton-hosted regional. Wake Forest, the three-time defending National Champions, will serve as the No. 2 seed and host the fourth and final regional. The Final Four is set for Nov. 18 and 20 at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky., and will hosted by the University of Louisville.

Comments From Head Coach Ange Bradley and Selected Players

Head Coach Ange Bradley
On facing Maryland:
"I think it is a great opportunity to be playing Maryland. They are a great team and our kids train with them most of the summer in the regionalization program. We just have to go up there and stand side-by-side and look them in the eye and play the best we can against them, and get the result we want."

On Richmond:
"We are really excited to play and we have had good momentum going in. Keeping our ball speed high is going to be our biggest challenge. We must keep our defense organized and try to create shots against a very good Maryland defense. Our team is really looking forward to getting to the tournament."

On the task at hand:
"It is now in front of them. It is disappointing we have to play the number one seed for the second-straight year, but if you are going to look to be a National Championship team -- which we all look to do -- then we are going to have to play that number one team at some point. If you want to be a National Champion, then you are going to have to beat them."

Senior Midfielder Allie Howard
On facing Maryland:
"I think we are excited because the majority of our team played with players from Maryland all summer. I think it is a great opportunity and we have always wanted to play Maryland."

On the task at hand:
"It feels great to be in the tournament, but we all want to go further than we have in the past. We have never gotten past the first round. It is time for us to get past that first game."

Senior Forward Whitney Wells
On the Richmond offense:
"As a team we play very similar to Maryland. So going in I think we will be able to provide our defense with good practice and pressure just like Maryland. Our forwards have been really working well this year, and that is why there are so many people scoring goals. Everyone is moving off each other and everyone is able to score."

On Richmond's non-conference schedule:
"I think we feel prepared to face Maryland after going up against some of the best earlier this year -- being up on Wake at the half. Playing with some of the Maryland players all summer is going to be a big difference. I think playing teams of the top-ranked calibur has really been good for us."

Senior Back Lesley Russell
On facing Maryland:
"We are all very excited. Some of us have spent the last three summers playing in College Park and playing at the national site with all of these girls. We know everyone of their forwards, we know most of their mids and backs."

Senior Goalkeeper Michelle Swartz
On being familiar with the players and going back close to home:
"I am really happy to be heading home, growing up on College Park's turf playing high school hockey. I think it is an awesome opportunity because we haven't played Maryland in the four years we have been here. We are very familiar with their playing style. I am looking forward to facing their corners. They have an excellent corner unit and excellent forwards which will be a great task to take on."

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