University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
American
No. 14 American Holds Off Spiders, 2-1
08/29/2009 | Field Hockey
Aug. 29, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond freshman Margaret Ellis scored a goal in the 52nd minute to pull the Spiders within one goal of No. 14 American, but the Eagles held on for the 2-1 victory Saturday at Crenshaw Field.
Richmond, which had knocked off then No. 14 ranked American last fall 2-1, gave the Eagles another close game Saturday in the Spiders' season opener. The two teams played to a scoreless tie for the first 32 minutes before American's Christine Fingerhuth put the Eagles on the board just before the half on an assists by Jenn Bradley.
American's Savannah Graybill made it 2-0 in the games' 45th minute, when she converted a penalty corner.
Less than seven minutes later Ellis scored her first collegiate goal off a rebound of a Sarah Blythe-Wood shot.
"Margaret Ellis stepped up," Richmond head coach Gina Lucido said. "One of the big things I loved when recruiting her is she's fearless and she's definitely a competitor. She came into the game and didn't even realize she was a freshman."
"Once I got on the field I knew I had to make my mark and prove myself," Ellis said. "I only really got one shot and I made sure it counted."
Richmond had chances in the closing minutes to tie the game, but American was able to hold on for the win.
"We got our first game jitters out today and American was able to get them out yesterday," Lucido said. "I'm not taking anything away from American, they executed well, they took care of the simple things and did that well. We just weren't able to find any kind of fluidity for a long period of time."
The Eagles had suffered an upset 2-1 loss to Indiana on Friday when American outshot the Hoosiers 20-10, including 19-5 in the second half.
Richmond's Jackie Raithel made eight saves in goal against American. The Spiders will host the Hoosiers on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Crenshaw Field.
