University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Massachusetts
No. 18 Field Hockey Upends UMass, 5-2
10/15/2006 | Field Hockey
Oct. 15, 2006
AMHERST, Mass. - The 18th-ranked Richmond field hockey squad scored three goals in a span of 4:44 during the second half to take control of Sunday's game and defeat Massachusetts 5-2 at Garber Field in Amherst, Mass. Richmond extended its win streak to six-straight while improving to 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the A-10. UMass fell to 4-12 on the season and 1-3 in Atlantic 10 play.
The Spiders were able to break through into the scoring column in 19th minute when freshman Lindsey Conrad received a pass from senior Heather Wrublesky deep in the circle. Conrad whirled around and fired a shot which was saved by UMass keeper Sarah Williams. The rebound came right back to Conrad who she was able to lift the ball over the head of Williams for her 11th goal of the season.
Play went back and forth for the remainder of the half as Richmond took a 1-0 lead into halftime. The Spiders held a 10-2 edge in shots and took both of the corners awarded in the half.
Richmond came out blazing in the second half and took a 2-0 lead off its second corner of the half at the 38:55 mark. The Spiders took four-straight shots as Williams turned away the first three. Conrad was there to lift the rebound off the third shot into the cage for her second goal of the game.
UMass came right back to make it a 2-1 game less than two minutes later when Gina Sanders got control of the ball at the 30-yard line. She passed to Cher King, just inside the circle, who made a lead pass to Lauren Gillespie on the near side. Gillespie controlled the ball on her stick and blasted a shot through traffic and into the back of the cage making it a 2-1 game.
The Spiders were able to take their two-goal lead back at 3-1 with just under 16 minutes left. Junior Shannon Taylor scored her 22nd goal of the season off a penalty corner. freshman Jess Weidner and senior Jodi Murphy were credited with assists on the play. Minutes later Richmond made it 5-1 with goals in the 58th and 60th minutes. All told, it was three goals in a span of 4:44 for the Spiders after UMass scored to make it a one goal game. Wrublesky used an assist from Taylor for the goal in the 58th minute, while freshman Megan Thompson notched her ninth of the season in the 60th minute.
UMass added a late goal off a penalty corner with 27 seconds left as Richmond finished the game with a 30-8 advantage in shots and took nine of the game's 10 corners. Williams ended the game with 15 saves for the Minutewomen, while sophomore Becca Weaver had three saves for the Spiders.
The Spiders hit the road again next weekend when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to face Temple and St. Joseph's. Friday, Oct. 20, Richmond will face the Temple Owls at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, the Spiders will take on the St. Joseph's Hawks at noon. Be sure to logon to Richmond's official athletics website -- RichmondSpiders.com for all the latest information on Spider field hockey.
