University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
5-3,1-0
VCU
2-7,0-1
Spiders Topple VCU in Atlantic 10 Opener, 16-9
04/02/2016 | Women's Lacrosse
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The heated crosstown rivalry between the University of Richmond and VCU added another sport to the mix on Friday night in the first-ever meeting between the two school's women's lacrosse programs.
In the Atlantic 10 Opener for both teams, the Spiders used a big second half to take down the Rams, 16-9, in front of a great Robins Stadium crowd.
Junior Natalia Chaney set a career-high with five goals to lead the potent offensive attack. Senior Brooke Wilson and sophomores Hope D'Orsi and Katie Trainer also had multi-goal performances with two goals apiece.
The two teams started by trading possessions for the first five minutes before Chaney ignited the Spiders offense by taking a pass from Kim Egizi and ripping into the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage. Richmond added goals from Wilson and Trainer over the next three minutes to quickly take a 3-0 lead.
VCU would wake up, scoring three of the next four goals to make it a one-goal game at 4-3, but another goal by Chaney midway through the first half pushed the Spiders' lead back to two at 5-3.
The Rams responded once again, scoring back-to-back goals to tie the game at 5-5, but Chaney would once again ignite the Richmond offense with the Spiders scoring three goals in the final 3:17 of the half, two from Chaney to take a 8-6 halftime lead.
Richmond came roaring out of the break with four unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes of the stanza to take a commanding 12-6 advantage.
Wilson started the scoring spree for the Spiders, notching her second goal of the contest less than two minutes into the half. D'Orsi, Chaney and Mia Castagnero followed suit, all scoring within six-minute period.
VCU scored its first goal of the half to cut Richmond's lead to 12-7, before Trainer added her second goal of the day, extending the lead to five once again.
The Rams scored once more with 6:39 remaining, but Kathleen Berkery and Aly Fries assisted one another on back-to-back goals to push the score to 15-8. Each team scored once more, with Egizi recording the final goal of the contest and the Spiders taking the 16-9 win.
Danni LeServe and Michaela Aymong split time in goal for the Spiders, combining to post six saves, while VCU's Ria Peralta finished with 14 saves for the Rams.
The Spiders are back in action on Sunday when they host Atlantic 10 and in-state foe George Mason. Game time at Robins Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
