University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
James Madison - NCAA Tournament First Round
No. 11 Spider Lacrosse Falls To James Madison, 9-8, In NCAA Tournament
05/14/2006 | Women's Lacrosse
May 14, 2006
HARRISONBURG, Va. - The 11th ranked University of Richmond women's lacrosse team was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament as it fell short by just one goal (9-8) to James Madison on Sunday afternoon in Harrisonburg, Va.
Freshman Mandy Friend and senior Caroline McGuire led the Spiders with two goals each, while juniors Ashley Friend and Morghan Vahue, sophomore Claire Cunniff, and senior Allison Nuzzi each added a score in the Spiders' efforts on Sunday.
Fans endured over 10 minutes of scoreless action before Richmond took a 1-0 lead as Mandy Friend broke the silence with the first goal of the afternoon at the 19:35 mark. The Dukes followed with a three goal run to take a 3-1 advantage; however, the Spiders regained control of the game after putting in three consecutive unanswered goals.
Mandy Friend rattled in her second goal of the afternoon at the 9:24 mark before Vahue evened up the score (3-3) at 6:37 and McGuire gave the Spiders a one-goal lead (4-3) after netting an unassisted goal just 20 seconds after Vahue.
James Madison put in one more goal in the last minute and half to even up the score (4-4) before the intermission and then rattled in another goal in the first 30 seconds of the second half to take a 5-4 lead over the Spiders.
Richmond's Nuzzi converted a free position attempt to even the score (5-5) before the Dukes put in four unanswered goals and took a commanding 9-5 lead at the 20:46 mark.
The Spiders then followed with three consecutive goals from Cunniff, McGuire, and Ashley Friend at the 13:53, 5:05, and 0:57 marks, respectively; however, the Spiders were unable to put in one last goal and fell short to the Dukes, who will now advance to the NCAA second round on May 20.
Spider keeper Jackie Swansburg finished the contest with seven saves in goal.
Richmond concluded its best season ever with a 16-4 record, a program best 16 wins, an A-10 regular season title, an 11-game win streak earlier in the season, a five-week stint in the Top 10, and their second-straight A-10 Championship and NCAA appearance.
