University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Lacrosse Ready For NCAA Match-Up With No. 6 North Carolina
05/11/2007 | Women's Lacrosse
May 11, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond women's lacrosse team is set to compete in its third-straight NCAA Championship on Sunday when it faces sixth-seeded North Carolina in first round action at 1:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
"We are extremely excited about this opportunity to represent the Atlantic 10 in the NCAA tourney," said Richmond head coach Sue Murphy. "We look forward to playing ACC powerhouse UNC, a program that has had an outstanding year both within its conference and nationally."
Richmond (14-5) enters the contest on a six-game win streak, while the Tar Heels (15-4) enter Sunday's game coming off a loss to Virginia in the ACC finals. The Spiders, 0-2 all-time in NCAA Championship action, have never advanced passed the first round game and will look to accomplish the feat on Sunday with their first-ever win over the Tar Heels.
The Spiders, winners nine of their last 10 contests, received the conference's automatic berth after winning their third league title Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, Pa. Sophomore Mandy Friend, the A-10 Championship's Most Outstanding Performer, as well as the A-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year, leads Richmond with a program record-breaking 60 goals, while sophomore Allison Furstenburg and senior Ashley Friend round out the Spiders' attack with 48 and 34 goals, respectively.
The Tar Heels, led by Kristen Taylor's 39 goals, received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, returning to the NCAA's for the third season in a row and ninth time in 12 years as a varsity program.
In last year's NCAA showing, the Spiders fell short by just one goal (9-8) to James Madison in the first round, concluding their best season yet (16-4), while the Tar Heels reached the quarterfinal round before losing to two-time champions Northwestern.
The two teams haven't played since the 1998 season when the Tar Heels defeated the Spiders 19-5 in Richmond.
"We have been playing very good lacrosse since the middle of April and I am very pleased with our showing in the Atlantic 10 tournament," said Murphy. "Both ends of the field have been doing well and we have focused on our draw control which will be very critical versus UNC."
Richmond and North Carolina are two of just 16 teams competing for the national championships. The winner between the North Carolina-Richmond battle will advance to play the winner of Sunday's first-round contest between third-seeded Virginia (16-3) and Princeton (10-6). Quarterfinal-round games are scheduled for Saturday, May 19.
Live coverage of the women's lacrosse NCAA's will be available at RichmondSpiders.com.
