University of Richmond Athletics
Spider InSight: Lexi Lights It Up; Football Speaks Up
08/31/2016 | Football, General, Women's Soccer
If you are like most Spider fans, you'll be looking for plenty of offensive explosions this fall at Robins Stadium. But if you weren't there last Friday night, you missed an impressive performance that will be hard to beat.
Junior soccer standout Lexi Prillaman tied Hall of Famer Brooke Sands' 19-year-old program record, scoring all four goals in the Spiders' energized 4-2 victory over state rival James Madison. In the first two weeks of the season, she's already been the Spider Wells Fargo Athlete of the Week twice, as well as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week.
If you haven't already, you can relive her eye-popping performance by clicking here to watch our SpiderTV highlights, or read on for Lexi's insight of her memorable night.
25:56 Penalty kick - UR 1 JMU 1: “What's funny is the night before at practice we had PK's. It's a good thing because we really hadn't focused too much on penalty kicks since the beginning of the season, so it's a good thing I had time to practice. With me, it's looking at the goalkeeper instead of where I want to shoot. If I'm looking at her, then she doesn't know where I'm going.”
38:45 UR 2 JMU 1: “Brooke Beam sent a ball through the midfield. It was deflected off one of their defenders. I saw the goalkeeper was off her line and it was a simple placement to the right side. It gave us good momentum going into the second half.”
48:15 UR 3 JMU 1: “Brooke and Meaghan (Carrigan) sent the ball through and I got to the ball before the goalkeeper did. I tried to chip it over her and the defender came down with me. I was in the right place at the right time. I saw it dribbling in. It's nice to get up after a fall and see the ball in the back of the net.”
76:41 UR 4 JMU 2: “Meaghan was able to send the ball forward. I was able to pull off my defender. There was another recovering defender. I made a cut inside. I'm notorious for using the left foot on that top side of the box. So I cut in - with the left foot - and saw the goalkeeper was kinda cheating to the inside post and her hands were down and I tried to find the side netting. And I did.”
That fourth goal clinched the Spiders' second win in three games to start the season, and it came in front of an enthusiastic home crowd that included Prillaman's parents and grandparents. The last time she scored that many goals in a game was in high school back in Delaware.
“My dad and I were talking about it after the (JMU) game. My high school senior night we played our rival and I scored five goals. I don't think I've ever done that before. And I didn't think I'd ever do that again. It was special to be on my senior night. It was good to go out with a bang.”
This season is starting with a bang for Prillaman and the Spiders. In just three games, she has scored six goals – double her total from all of last year. She leads the nation in goals per game and is second nationally in total goals. The Spiders are among the national team leaders in goals per game. In addition to her A-10 Player of the Week award, her up-and-coming freshman teammate, Brooke Beam, also from Delaware, earned Rookie of the Week honors after assisting on two of Lexi's goals.
“She's really just exceeded my highest expectations,” said Prillaman about Beam. “I think she's going to continue to develop and she has a great career ahead of her. I'm excited to help her as much as I can. We're the Delaware Dynamic Duo. It's fun to say that.”
Prillaman's goal now is to make sure the fun is just beginning. “I don't want this to be my shining moment at Richmond. Yes, it's a great accomplishment. I'm glad I could do that and we could come out and win in our home opener. I would like to use this momentum moving into the rest of the season. If that's the only story we have for the season, I'm going to be disappointed. I don't want this to be the only highlight people see. I want to lead our team on and off the field. I hope there are some more stories to follow. That includes us going to the A-10 tournament. And winning.”
SPIDER SPEAK
Of course, Robins Stadium's other fall tenant, Coach Danny Rocco's nationally-ranked football team, will open at Virginia this Saturday (click here for Gameday Central) before playing its home opener September 10 against Norfolk St at 6pm. And by the way, this may not be a fair comparison to Lexi and her four goals in a game, but the Spider record for touchdowns in a game is six by Hall of Famer Erwin Matthews in 1987.
Last Saturday, Coach Rocco and his captains hosted media day, not only for the local journalists, but for a great group of new Spider season ticket holders who sat in the back of the Halftime House and listened in to the question and answer session.
The most popular topic was the players' approach to the game at Virginia, as the FCS Spiders step up a level against the new-look FBS Cavaliers.
Quarterback Kyle Lauletta: “No matter who the opponent is, I think we're going to come out with that fire and intensity – especially on a big stage. It heightens your desire to win and have that upset. I think this opportunity is consistent with games we've had in the past.”
Wide receiver Brian Brown: “From the outside looking in, to an FBS game, it's a much larger scale. At the end of the day, we plan on winning every game. It means a lot (knowing past Spider teams have been competitive and had success in FBS matchups). It gives us something to look at and say we can do this. For me, it's just the venue. Playing in a big stadium like that, it gets me going. I'm excited.”
Linebacker Omar Howard: “We've had guys who have shown well in these FBS games and that got them interest from the NFL. Like Kerry Wynn in the NC State game. He had like 12 tackles and it got him noticed. But most of it is you just want to win the game. A big FBS game is always fun to win. You want to make it another game, but you can't. It's an FBS game. It's a big venue. It's the start of your season. It's exciting and I think you have to embrace that excitement and let it fuel you.”
The most humorous moment of the press conference came when CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year David Jones was asked what he attributed all the accolades to after a breakout junior season in which he was also named First Team All-CAA and an FCS All American. “I think my weight gain had something to do with it,” he said. Jones was listed at 187 pounds on the 2015 roster, and now he's at 210 pounds. “And just staying humble and putting the team before myself. But the weight gain had something to do with it.” To which, Howard, sitting next to Jones, deadpanned, “I think nine interceptions had a lot to do with it, too.”
ON-THE-AIR
Looking forward to rejoining Chris Anderson, Matt Smith and Matt Josephs for our Spider IMG Sports Network football broadcasts, beginning Saturday at UVa's Scott Stadium. Air time is 3pm. Locally, you can catch the game on our longtime flagship station ESPN 950, and new this year, we've moved up the FM dial to a more powerful signal on 107.3 BBT.
The first Spider Sportsline radio show with Coach Danny Rocco will be next Tuesday, September 6 from noon-1pm. For the ninth consecutive year, Outback Steakhouse, 7917 West Broad Street, will host the show. It can be heard live on ESPN 950 and SportsFM 100.5. Fans, alums and corporate partners are encouraged to attend. Listeners can call-in during the program at 804-622-0950. Emails, texts and tweets can be sent anytime.
Email: spidersportsline@richmond.edu
Text: 804-638-9508
Tweet: @spidervoice
Outback Steakhouse, 7917 W. Broad Street, is open for lunch seven days a week at 11 a.m. and offers daily lunch specials. Hope to see you there!
All Spider game and coach's show broadcasts are also available online at RichmondSpiders.com and on our Spider Mobile App, free of charge. ESPN 950 now offers the Audio Now Listen Line. Call 712-770-9500 to hear ESPN 950 programming, including all Spider broadcasts. There's no data usage. Long distance charges may apply.
