No. 9 Women's Lacrosse Hosts A-10 Opponents This Weekend
04/06/2006 | Women's Lacrosse
April 6, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Off to its best start ever, the ninth-ranked University of Richmond women's lacrosse team will host the Temple Owls and the Massachusetts Minutewomen this weekend as it continues Atlantic 10 play. The Spiders will have their A-10 home opener with the Owls on Friday at 3:00 p.m. at First Market Stadium as they look for their ninth consecutive win of the season.
After rounding out non-conference action 8-2, the Spiders opened A-10 play with a 16-14 win over George Washington last Sunday to improve them to a 9-2 overall mark and a 1-0 A-10 record. Freshman Mandy Friend currently leads all Spiders with 34 goals, including eight hat tricks, followed by senior Caroline McGuire with 30 goals and six hat tricks.
The Spiders currently rank ninth in the nation for scoring offense (13.27 gpg), 17th for scoring margin (4.09), eighth for win percentage (.818), and 18th for caused turnovers (10.45). Additionally, M. Friend ranks 16th in the nation for scoring (3.09 gpg) and Spider keeper Jackie Swansburg ranks sixth for save percentage (.553).
The Owls (4-5) are coming off a 10-9 loss to eighth-ranked Princeton on Tuesday. Led by Johna Capaldo with 15 goals and Nicole Cataldo with 14 goals, the Owls are returning 19 players from last year's squad that recorded a 10-7 record and tied for 1st in the A-10 with a 6-1 mark.
The Owls currently lead the Temple-Richmond all-time series; however, the Spiders have claimed wins in the last two meetings, including an 11-10 victory in the semi-finals of the 2005 Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Following Friday's contest, the Spiders will continue A-10 play on Sunday, April 9 when they will host the Massachusetts Minutewomen at noon. Live coverage for both Friday's and Sunday's contest will be available at www.RichmondSpiders.com.