University of Richmond
(6-6, 4-2A10)
Massachusetts
(7-6, 3-1A10)
Spiders Roll Past UMass, 4-2
10/09/2016 | Field Hockey
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Major League Baseball has the Yankees and Red Sox. College Basketball has Duke and North Carolina. Atlantic 10 field hockey has the Richmond Spiders and the UMass Minutewomen.
The two schools are the only two schools to have won the A-10 title in the past 20 . On Sunday afternoon, the two faced off for their regular season meeting, a thriller that the Spiders took home a critical 4-2 victory.
Four different Spiders (6-6, 4-2) found the back of the cage, including senior Emma Johansson who tallied her team-leading fifth goal of the year. Senior Kelly Quinn, junior Katrina Balatgek and freshman Hannah Loos also found the back of the cage. Junior Megan Miller dominated the midfield en route to two assists on the day.
Richmond outshot the Minutewomen (7-6, 3-1) 20-11, while picking up 11 corners on the afternoon.
“Today was a tremendous step for our team. We really saw a lot of hard work and perseverance paying off in our effort today. Our defensive stance and executing our game plan against a high quality opponent and at such a critical time of the year in the Atlantic 10 race is huge for us,” Head Coach Gina Lucido said.
The Spiders came out firing early, drawing a corner less than four minutes into the contest and testing the Minutewomen with back-to-back scoring opportunities.
Balatgek teamed up with Miller for the game's first goal, taking a pass from Miller on the left side of the cage and firing it home to give Richmond a 1-0 advantage in the fifth minute.
The Spiders' offense would continue to pressure UMass, but the Minutewomen got a counter attack goal in the 11th minute to even things up at 1-1.
Less than three minutes later, Richmond would once again answer. This time it was Loos, who created a turnover deep into UMass territory and dribbled past two defenders to score her first goal of the season and give the Spiders a 2-1 lead.
The Minutewomen would answer once again, getting a tying goal in the 21st minute to send the game into halftime at 2-2.
The second half was a battle throughout with neither team allowing many opportunities for the first 25 minutes.
Richmond would take the lead for good in the 60th minute when Miller sent a shot off a corner into the front of the goal, which Quinn deflected in for a 3-2 lead.
Johansson added an insurance goal three minutes later, getting loose inside the circle and blasting her fifth goal of the season into the back of the cage.
Junior Amanda Hoyt would do the rest, tallying a season-high five saves to secure the win for the Spiders.
"Amanda was outstanding for us today and really has been huge for us all season. She's worked really hard and it's great to see that work paying off," Lucido said.
Richmond hits the road next weekend, heading to in-state foe James Madison on Friday evening. Game time in Harrisonburg is set for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
BALATGEK, Katrina
Assisted By: MILLER, Megan
GOAL by RICH BALATGEK, Katrina (FIRST GOAL), Assist by MILLER, Megan.
4:23
DIJKSTRA, Anne
Assisted By: HAWKSHAW, Sarah
shot inside the circle deflected in
10:19
LOOS, Hannah (1)
drove it all the way into the cage from
13:19
HORGAN, Grace
Assisted By: MILLER, Nicole
GOAL by UMASS HORGAN, Grace, Assist by MILLER, Nicole.
20:12
QUINN, Kelly
Assisted By: MILLER, Megan
deflected on a corner
59:16
JOHANSSON, Emma (6)
dribbled up the field and scored
62:49
