Women's Lacrosse Ready for NCAA Championship
05/10/2005 | Women's Lacrosse
May 10, 2005
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond women's lacrosse team is set to compete in its first-ever NCAA Championship on Thursday when it faces Duke at 3:00 p.m. in Durham, N.C. The Spiders earned the league's automatic berth when they captured the 2005 Atlantic 10 Championship.
Richmond (9-7) has won its last seven games, the longest winning streak under current head coach Sue Murphy. The Spiders won the program's first Atlantic 10 Championship last weekend, defeating top-seed Temple 11-10 on Friday and then topping Duquesne 10-8 on Saturday night.
Junior Caroline McGuire leads the Spiders in goals with 42 and senior Kristen Habicht and junior Allison Nuzzi pace the team in assists (11 each). The championships' Most Outstanding Performer, McGuire, has tallied six game-winning scores for Richmond.
Duke (15-3) is making its eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships after capturing its first ACC title, knocking off defending champion Virginia in the finals. The second-seeded Blue Devils earned the program's highest-ever seeding.
Katie Crest, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, leads the Blue Devils in scoring with 60 goals.
The teams are meeting for the sixth time with the Blue Devils holding a 4-1 advantage. Earlier this season, Duke dominated Richmond 18-6 in Durham.