University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
(2-0)
William & Mary
(0-2)
Spider Hockey Picks Up Second-Straight Win
08/31/2014 | Field Hockey
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond field hockey squad picked up its second-straight win when it edged in-state rival William & Mary, 2-1, to remain undefeated Sunday afternoon in its home opener at Crenshaw Field.
“It was a great way to start,” commented junior defender Amy Cooke. “We have been training really hard this week and we are coming off a tough match Friday, so we all came out with a lot of pride at stake. This is our home ground and we don't want to lose here so it was a big game today. I am glad we got the win.”
The two teams battled from start to finish on a hot, humid afternoon. William & Mary (0-2) put the pressure on Richmond (2-0) early in the first half. The Tribe recorded the first two corners of the day and found the back of the cage at the 16-minute mark.
The Spiders responded when Allison Siegel punched in a high ball from Samantha Ostoich that was headed for the top right corner of the cage. Siegel has scored in back-to-back contests for Richmond.
It wasn't until the 43:38 mark until Richmond took the lead. Cooke notched the game-winner when Avery Safford and Allison Haas set the junior up perfectly on a routine corner.
“It was a great team build up to get the corner,” said Cooke. “I am just very thankful the shot went in. We have been practicing a lot of corners this week and it was really good to see it go in and the hard work paying off.”
Richmond controlled the momentum in the second half and denied pressure from the Tribe. William & Mary only took one shot which was off a corner five minutes left in the contest that went wide.
The Spiders outshot the Tribe 12-5, while William & Mary edged Richmond 5-4 in penalty corners. Kelley Wentling picked up her second-straight victory in goal as she moved on to 2-0, while Meredith Savage took the loss for the Tribe.
“William & Mary always comes out on a mission,” added Cooke. “They are physical, they are tough, and they always make us better. I always enjoy playing them, because we do get stronger every time we face them. Credit to them. I think today was a really tough game and we managed to be on the winning side.”
The Spiders will kick off a five-game road swing, their longest of the season, Friday, Sept. 5 when they travel to Delaware at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
Smith, Peyton
connected off rebound
16:00
SIEGEL, Allison
Assisted By: OSTOICH, Samantha
popped up by 9, 19 tapped in
26:31
COOKE, Amy
Assisted By: HAAS, Allison , SAFFORD, Avery
off corner
43:38
