University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
JAMES MADISON
Field Hockey Shuts Out James Madison, 1-0
09/15/2013 | Field Hockey
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Sophomore Amy Cooke's first-half penalty shot lifted the Richmond field hockey team over the James Madison Dukes, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Crenshaw Field.
The Spiders improved to 2-4 on the season, while the Dukes dropped to 3-3 overall.
"We are very please that the girls were able to execute our tactical plan as well as being extremely competitive," commented head coach Gina Lucido. "We knew it was going to be a very physical game and we have played four games in eight days. James Madison is a very talented program and they have a lot of speed and move the ball well. The key was to stay disciplined throughout the whole game and when you are fatigued it is very easy for that to go out the window.”
Junior Rebecca Barry led both teams with five shots and two on goal, while senior Anna Zarkoski tallied five saves to earn the shutout. Richmond's backline has been solid all season and helped Zarkoski in goal to prevent a score as James Madison fired 12 shots on the day.
The Spiders were rewarded with the penalty shot at the 18:11 mark when Christina Amorose fired a shot but was deflected by a Duke foot. Cooke was elected to take it and fired it past Stephanie Tarafas, who was in goal for James Madison.
“They pushed us a lot in the first half,” said senior defender Jessica Hollis. “They are a really physical team and we just needed to step up and do our job. We got one goal and defended the rest of the game and came out with the win. I really think after our UVA game we got to step back and really think about how we play our game and what we really needed to do to win games and I think that is what we have done the last two games. We have stood behind each other and really worked hard to get these two games.”
James Madison kept attacking as it took 11 more shots and five additional corners but the Spiders remained strong to get the win.
“I was so impressed with their ability to stick to our game plan and to grind it out,” added Lucido. “This is a really great win that we needed and I think with their ability to have such mental fortitude is really powerful.”
Richmond will enjoy a five-day break before traveling to Hempstead, N.Y., to face the Hofstra Pride Friday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. Friday is a start of a four-game road swing for the Spiders.
