University of Richmond
Temple
CHAMPIONS: Spiders Win Sixth Atlantic 10 Title In Last Eight Years
11/07/2009 | Field Hockey
Nov. 7, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - The Richmond field hockey team defeated Temple 3-0 Saturday to win its sixth Atlantic 10 Championship in the last eight years.
This was the first time Richmond posted a shutout in its six Atlantic 10 title game victories and the Spiders tied their largest margin of victory in an A-10 title game. In 2002, Richmond won 4-1 in the championship game against UMass.
Senior Sarah Blythe-Wood was named the tournament's Most Outsanding Player after scoring her second game-winning goal in as many days and goals by sophomore Katelin Peterson and senior Adrian Pickar added insurance as the Spiders won for the 61st time in the last 67 games against Atlantic 10 teams.
"I'm so proud of this team," Richmond head coach Gina Lucido said. "We played our style and tactically were able to apply some things in just 24 hours. This team deserves every single bit of this trophy and the feelings that we have here."
Richmond, which has won nine of the last 11 games, will play MAC champion Ohio on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Athens, Ohio. In an NCAA Tournament play-in game.
Blythe-Wood scored her Atlantic 10-leading 21st goal of the season 23:47 into Saturday's game when she beat the keeper with a reverse stick shot off of a corner.
"It's unbelievable, we came in yesterday and we knew that we just needed to get ourselves to the final," said Blythe-Wood, who scored the walk-off goal in Richmond's 2-1 semifinal win over No. 19 UMass on Friday. "Today we did it in the most wonderful fashion, a shutout, three goals, it's indescribable."
Richmond quickly made it 2-0 just five minutes later when Pickar broke into the circle and sent a shot toward the cage that Peterson tipped in for her 13th goal of the season and the 25th goal of her career.
Then in the second half Pickar scored her fifth goal of the season and the 15th of her career with 11:46 to play when junior Tori Whitcher sent a pass in from the top left of the circle and with her back to the goal, Pickar one-timed it past the onrushing goalkeeper.
"As seniors we wanted it the most because we knew what it feels like, we've wanted it since our freshmen year," said Pickar, who as a freshman on the 2006 A-10 Championship team with her classmates. "We've worked so hard, run so much and practiced so hard for this. We just felt it was our time to have it again."
Richmond's three tallies moved the 2009 team into a tie for fourth on the school's all-time single-season list with 63 goals, matching the 2003 squad.
Richmond senior goalkeeper Jacki Raithel made two saves to record her sixth shutout of the season and the eighth of her career.
Blythe-Wood's goal moved her into a tie for fifth on Richmond's all-time career list for points with 89. It was her 35th career goal, which ties her for sixth on the school's all-time goals list. She is third on Richmond's single-season points list with 53 and fourth on the single-season goals list with 21.
Joining Blythe-Wood on the All-Tournament Team were Peterson, redshirt junior Dani Pycroft and freshman Catherine Ostoich.
