University of Richmond Athletics
Soccer Hosts Pair To Close Regular Season
10/30/2014 | Women's Soccer
Richmond soccer finishes out the regular season with two vital home contests, Friday night at 7 p.m. against Massachusetts and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. versus Rhode Island. Both games are free to the public at Robins Stadium. These will be matchups of contrasting styles, with the Spiders putting up more shots and goals than all but one team in the league, while the Minutewomen and Rams are among the top three in fewest goals allowed in the conference.
The Spiders will honor their five outgoing seniors in a pregame ceremony before Friday night's contest. Midfielders Drika Bianchin (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Samantha Cicconi (Madison, New Jersey), Violet Miller (Falls Church, Virginia / George Mason HS) ad Ashley Williams (Williamsburg, Virginia / Warhill HS), along with goalkeeper Lisa Hozey (Columbia, South Carolina) will be presented before the game for their contributions to the program ahead of the weekend soccer.
The Spiders sit ninth by one point in the current standings, needing to pass one team to get into next week's Atlantic 10 Conference Championships, which start Thursday in Dayton, Ohio. Both Massachusetts and Rhode Island sit ahead of the Spiders in the standings, giving Richmond the opportunity to gain ground and earn a place in the eight-team field next week.
Richmond is 8-7-2 overall, 2-2-2 in league games this season. The Spiders have posted a respectable 4-2 home record this season. Richmond is second in the league with 33 goals scored, more than double their final output in 2013. The Spiders' 107 points (combining the 33 goals with 41 assists) are the most in the league. The Spiders are 34th nationally in point per contest, seventh in the assists per game ad 11th in total assists. Redshirt freshman Meaghan Carrigan (Greenville, South Carolina) scored twice and assisted on the third goal in Saturday's 4-3 double-overtime loss at home to Dayton. She is the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, the third time in 10 weeks she has won the award this season. Carrigan is second in the league in points and tied for second in goals. Junior teammate Shannon Colligan (Greenwich, Connecticut) is tied for the league lead with 12 assists, one shy of the school record. Top Drawer Soccer.com listed their Top 20 players in the A-10, and Richmond was the only school with four players listed.
Massachusetts is coming off a pair of 2-0 home wins last weekend, against St. Bonaventure and Duquesne. The Minutewomen are 5-7-4 overall, but 3-2-1 in league play. Despite an overall losing record, UM is tested, playing eight of its first 11 games into overtime (seven of them went double overtime). UM is just 1-5-2 on the road this season. Jackie Bruno has scored six goals, nearly half of her team's 14 this season. Defensively, keepers Cassidy Babin and Danielle Kriscenski have combined for a 1.09 goals-against average, 77 saves and an .802 save percentage. They have five shutouts between them this season. Despite being third from the bottom in the league in scoring goals, the Minutewomen are fifth in saves and third in goals allowed and goals-against average.
Rhode Island is fifth in goals scored, but is second in goals allowed and goals-against average, giving up just 16 goals in 16 matches this season. The Rams do not have a goal scorer in the league's top 10, but Nicole Brennan is tied for fifth with six assists this season. Defensively, goalkeeper Katie Nickles leads the conference with a 0.61 goals-against average and .891 save percentage this season. In nine games played this year, she has posted four shutouts.
The Atlantic 10 Tournament will start with four games next Thursday in Dayton, Ohio. Pairings and times will be posted at Atlantic 10.com at the completion of all of the league games on Sunday.
