University of Richmond Athletics
No. 19 Field Hockey Opens Atlantic 10 Play This Weekend
10/05/2006 | Field Hockey
Oct. 5, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The 19th-ranked Richmond Spiders field hockey squad will open defense of its four-straight Atlantic 10 titles Friday, Oct. 6, when West Chester comes to Crenshaw Field for a 3:30 p.m. contest. The Spiders will remain home for the second A-10 game of the weekend Sunday, Oct. 8, when La Salle visits Crenshaw Field for a game at noon.
The Spiders have not lost an Atlantic 10 regular-season contest since 2001, and will be looking to extend a 33-game win streak against all A-10 opponents. Going into last weekend's wins over Radford and Davidson, the Spiders had the fifth-toughest schedule in the country, and now hope their non-conference slate can help them remain perfect in conference play.
Junior Shannon Taylor, the reigning All-Atlantic 10 Weekly Performer, is coming off an impressive showing. The Midlothian, Va., native tied the Richmond single-game scoring record with four goals in the Spiders' 9-0 win over Davidson last Sunday. Taylor is currently among the Top-3 in the country in goals (1.45) and points (3.27) per game, while sitting atop the Atlantic 10 in both categories.
Taylor's three-year career totals rank among the best ever at Richmond. The midfielder ranks third in all-time career points with 106, while Heather Rice holds on to the top spot with 133 in four years. Taylor's career goal mark of 44 in three seasons is also third all-time for Richmond; 17 behind Rice's mark of 61.
Richmond has also received offensive spark from some of its 12 newcomers this season. Freshman Lindsey Conrad was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week after notching four goals in the Spiders' three games last week. The Wilkes-Barre, Pa., native registered the first multi-goal game of her career in the loss to No. 8 Virginia. She later scored a goal in each of the wins over the weekend. On the season, Conrad has scored five goals and passed out two assists for a total of 12 points.
Another freshman contributing to the Spiders success is Megan Thompson. The Gap, Pa., native has scored five goals on just nine shots thus far, and has played in all 11 games for the Spiders.
Richmond is 5-4 all-time against West Chester and holds a five-game win streak dating back to 2002. The Spiders have also outscored the Golden Rams 27-1 over their last five meetings, which include a 3-0 win and an 8-1 victory in Richmond.
Richmond is 4-3 all-time against the La Salle Explorers and have a current four-game win streak in the series. Last season, playing in Philadelphia, Pa., the Spiders needed overtime to notch a win against the Explorers, 2-1. Richmond is 2-0 all-time against La Salle at Crenshaw Field, including a 3-1 win in 2002 and a 6-1 victory in 2004.
Following this weekend's action the Spiders will hit the road for four-straight Atlantic 10 road games. The first of the four will come Oct. 13 at Rhode Island as game time is set for 3:30 p.m. Be sure to logon to Richmond's official athletics website -- RichmondSpiders.com for all the latest information on Spider field hockey.