University of Richmond Athletics
No. 13 Women's Lacrosse Hosts No. 3 Maryland Wednesday
03/06/2007 | Women's Lacrosse
March 6, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Fresh off a thrilling overtime victory over in-state rival William and Mary, the No. 13 Richmond women's lacrosse team will open a three-game home stand on Wednesday afternoon when it plays hosts No. 3 Maryland, its third Top 10 opponent this season. Opening draw with the Terrapins is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at First Market Stadium.
Scouting The Spiders: The Spiders enter the contest with a 3-2 mark, dropping their only two contests to Top 10 opponents Duke and Virginia. Sophomore All-American Mandy Friend (15 goals and 2 assists) and sophomore transfer Allison Furstenburg (11 goals and six assists) lead the Spiders' attack with 17 points each. Preseason All-American Ashley Friend follows with 10 goals and three assists and senior Morghan Vahue has chipped in nine goals to balance out Richmond's forefront.
Last Time Out: Senior Ashley Friend lifted the 13th-ranked Richmond women's lacrosse team to a 10-9 victory over in-state rival William and Mary 3:20 into the first sudden-death overtime period on Sunday afternoon at Albert-Daly Field. After the teams played six scoreless minutes during the first overtime session, Friend's third tally of the contest ended an exciting, evenly-matched battle between two resilient state-rivals.
Friend finished with a hat trick and an assist, including the game-tying goal in the final 25 seconds of regulation, as well as the game-winning goal in the third overtime period. Vahue, Mandy Friend and Furstenburg chipped in two goals apiece and junior Jenna Hubbard added a goal for Richmond, which has now won four of the last five meetings between the schools.
Scouting The Terrapins: Maryland is undefeated (3-0) at the start of the season and fresh off a 19-18 upset over No. 2 Duke on Saturday at Ludwig Field. The 8th-ranked Terrapins ended the Blue Devils' 12-game road winning streak that dated back to 2005. Leading the scoring were senior Krista Pellizzi and junior Lauren Cohen who both recorded four goals, career-high scoring for Cohen.
Cohen also matched her career-high with two assists to establish a new personal best with six points. Junior Dana Dobbie added a hat trick while securing a game-high eight draw controls. Kelly Kasper had two goals and an assist for the second-straight game, while junior Casey Magor and Katie Princiotto notched two goals and an assist apiece and freshman Caitlyn McFadden posted two tallies.
The Terrapins, led by Pellizzi's 11 goals and six assists, return 22 letterwinners, including 10 starters from last year's squad that posted a 12-8 record and finished fourth in the ACC, advancing to the NCAA first round.
The Last Meeting: The teams last met on March 4, 2006 when the unranked Spiders dropped a 12-9 decision at No. 6 Maryland. Mandy Friend added four of the Spiders' goals, while Vahue and Caroline McGuire chipped in two apiece and Hubbard added Richmond's final goal.
Maryland got hat tricks from Delia Cox, Kelly Kasper and Pellizzi. The Terps led nearly the entire game, but had to withstand a late Spider rally to come away with the victory.
Up Next: Following Wednesday's contest, the Spiders will continue their three-game home stand with Mount St. Mary's on Sunday, March 11 at 1:00 p.m. at First Market Stadium.
