University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
LA SALLE
Women's Lacrosse Uses First Half Surge To Overpower La Salle, 17-5
04/22/2007 | Women's Lacrosse
April 22, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Using an 11-0 first half run and hat tricks from Mandy and Ashley Friend, the Richmond women's lacrosse team (10-5, 4-1 A-10) took a dominating 17-5 victory over La Salle in an A-10 match Sunday afternoon at First Market Stadium, earning its sixth-straight win over the Explorers and fifth win in the last six games.
Nine total Spiders scored in the overpowering victory with six scorers notching multiple goals. This was the second straight hat trick for both Mandy and Ashley against the Explorers. This was also Mandy's ninth hat trick of the season and Ashley's fourth.
Juniors Jenna Hubbard and Erin Kennedy, sophomore Allison Furstenburg and senior Morghan Vahue each added two goals, while junior Zara Nematollahi and sophomores Lexie Marrocco, and Sarah Townsend tallied one apiece as the Spiders handed La Salle (4-9, 0-5 in A-10) its seventh-straight loss.
Hubbard also added a game-high three helpers, while Furstenburg and Ashley Friend, junior Claire Cunniff and Marrocco each assisted on one.
While La Salle's Tiffany Grossi found an opening behind the goal for a quick pass to Jill Davis to give the Explorers the first score on the board in the opening two minutes, the Spiders responded with an overpowering 11-0 run that the Explorers were never able to recover from. The first three Spider goals came within a span that lasted just over two minutes, sparked by a Mandy Friend free position goal. Friend then assisted Vahue on a goal before netting her second goal of the afternoon for a 3-1 Spider advantage.
Six minutes later, Mandy rounded out her hat trick and her scoring for the day with an unassisted goal. Kennedy followed with an unassisted goal less than a minute later. In the following minute, Furstenburg sparked into action, assisting on a Vahue diving goal and assisting Nematollahi on a goal before putting in two of her own, the first off a quick pass from Ashley Friend and the second unassisted off a power move from behind the goal.
Ashley Friend closed out the scoring in the first half with a pair of goals, the first off a Hubbard helper, blasting a shot to the low right corner, the second unassisted. The Spiders entered intermission with a 10-goal (11-1) advantage over the Explorers.
Leading La Salle scorer Emily Bonczek tallied her only goal of the contest in the opening three minutes of second-half play before the Spiders would rattle off two more goals. Hubbard scored the first off an assist from Ashley Friend on her third and final goal of the afternoon as Richmond crept away with a 13-2 lead.
La Salle, also receiving goals from Rachel Kilgore, Catie Borneman and Tiffany Grossi, was able to put in three more goals the rest of the way, while the Spiders found the back of the net four more times for a final score of 17-5. Hubbard and Kennedy each tallied one more goal in the afternoon, and Marrocco and Townsend each netted one goal for the win. Marrocco's goal was the first of her collegiate career.
Spider keepers Jackie Swansburg and Erica Marrocco combined for nine saves between the pipes, with Swansburg recording four saves in 46 minutes in the back and Marrocco notching three big saves in 14 minutes in goal. Sunday's win marked the second-straight contest that the Spiders' held their opponents to five goals or less.
Richmond finished with the advantage in draw controls (14-8), ground balls (5-3) and shots (33-16) as it captured its second-straight A-10 win.
The Spiders will continue their three-game home stand and round out their regular season with St. Bonaventure on Friday, April 27 at 3:00 p.m. and Duquesne on senior day Sunday, April 29 at 1:00 p.m. Live coverage of the Spiders' contests, including live stats and video streaming, will be available at RichmondSpiders.com.
