Spiders Take Down Holy Cross In OT, 3-2

Friday, September 2

Richmond, Va.

5:00 PM

University of Richmond

3-1-0

Holy Cross

1-3-0

OT 2

Holy Cross

Richmond

09/02/2016 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Richmond Athletics

RICHMOND, Va. – Though the University of Richmond women's soccer team was unable to take down the Holy Cross Crusaders in regulation, it didn't take much longer for the Spiders to come out on top.

Freshman Alyssa Walker received a corner kick from sophomore Bailey Cristian just 54 seconds into the first sudden-victory overtime period and headed the ball past the goalkeeper to give Richmond a 3-2 win on Friday night at Sports Backers Stadium.

“I credit Holy Cross,” head coach Peter Albright said. “They were very scrappy and very physical. I thought we showed some backbone in the second half, and took play over again against the wind, and the goal was a matter of time. I was very happy that we got the win.”

Senior Meaghan Carrigan started the scoring early for the Spiders when she sent a rebound past the Holy Cross goalie off of an assist from Lindsey Williams just under three minutes into the game.

The Spiders would dominate the opening minutes of the game, but the Crusaders evened the score at 1-1 when Andj Seslija scored the first of her two goals on the day in the 23^rd minute of play.

Less than a minute later, junior Lexi Prillaman received a ball from junior Olivia Aha and blasted it right through the goalie's hands to give Richmond a 2-1 lead entering halftime.

The Crusaders evened the score on a penalty kick just over two minutes into the second half, and the score would stay even at 2-2 through the end of regulation.

The Spiders came out strong in the overtime period, with Walker's game-winner coming less than a minute in. This is Richmond's second-straight win, as they move to 3-1 on the season.

“I thought Emily Drummond played very well coming off the bench and was very solid,” Albright said. “I thought Bailey Cristian gave us a spark in the second half. I was really proud of her.”

Richmond outshot Holy Cross, 23-7, and had seven corners to the Crusaders' one. Junior Katie Brennan finished with four saves in goal for the Spiders.

“We need a lot of people to contribute in different ways at different times, and this was an example of that,” Albright added. “It was a scrappy, hard and tough game to win, and we'll see how we come out on Sunday.”

Richmond returns to action on Sunday when they face Sacred Heart in a neutral-site matchup at Sports Backers Stadium. Game time is set for 12 p.m.