In-Game Blog: Richmond vs. No. 3 Syracuse

2nd Half, 0:00- Game and season come to a close for the Richmond Spiders. Final score: UR 0, Cuse 2.

2nd Half, 2:34- Richmond awarded its first penalty corner in a while, but fail to get a shot off.

2nd Half, 3:58- Chances looking slim for a Richmond comeback, but the Spiders won't hang their head after the season they've had.

2nd Half, 8:23- Barry makes a nice pass across the box, and Ostoich runs in to try to put a stick on it, but is unable get there in time.

2nd Half, 11:24- Syracuse showing why it's the No. 3 team in the country, as it continues to apply pressure, not allowing Richmond to have any looks at a goal.

2nd Half, 15:49- Syracuse pulling away now, scoring its second goal to increase its lead to 2-0. The goal came from Heather Susek on an assist from Page. Spiders take a timeout to try to regain their composure.

2nd Half, 20:29- Cuse scores the game's first goal to go ahead, 1-0. Jordan Page put in the back of the cage off a rocket pass from Monica Loncarica. The Spiders now face an uphill battle to get back into this game.

2nd Half, 21:54- Schnuck's shot is blocked by an a Cuse defender running at her.

2nd Half, 22:46- Peterson makes a few fancy moves in the box and gets a call to give Richmond its first penalty corner of the half.

2nd Half, 24:20- The shot goes wide right, and the Spiders go back on the offensive.

2nd Half, 24:55- Syracuse earns the first penalty corner of the second half.

2nd Half, 28:49- A behind the back pass by Richmond freshman Rebecca Barry draws "oohs" and "ahs" from the crowd.

2nd Half, 30:08- Zarkoski makes a diving save, hitting the ball away with her leg pads.

2nd Half, 31:38- Another stop by Cuse goalkeeper spoils a nice run into the box by Peterson.

2nd Half, 33:03- Gyger is helped from the field after a lengthy visit from the trainer.

2nd Half, 33:03- Richmond's Jackie Gyger is down on the turf with an injury. She collided with the Syracuse goalkeeper near the top of the box going after a loose ball. Amorose comes in to replace her.

2nd Half, 34:55- Second half underway here in College Park, as the Spiders start with the ball.

Halftime- At the half, Richmond owns a 6-3 advantage in shots, but both teams have two on goal. Both of Richmond's shots on goal were by Peterson. Richmond looked like the more impressive team in the first half, but in a low-scoring game, a lucky goal could end up deciding it, and as the No. 3 team in the country, Syracuse will likely come out strong in the second half.

1st Half, 0:00- The first half comes to a close with neither team scoring. The second half will start with a 0-0 score.

1st Half, 1:10- Richmond comes back down the field and is awarded its own penalty corner, but is unable to get a shot off.

1st Half, 2:45- A penalty shot is awarded to Syracuse after a great shot. Cuse's Martina Loncarica takes it, and Richmond goalkeeper Anna Zarkoski makes a great save, diving to her right to keep the game scoreless. The Richmond bench goes crazy with cheers.

1st Half, 3:30- Syracuse is awarded its first penalty corner.

1st Half, 8:54- Peterson comes off the field to take a breather. Sophomore Christina Amorose takes her place. Amorose has proven to be a big-time scoring threat this season.

1st Half, 11:30- Just noticed that most of the players on the field have the lime green stick.

1st Half, 14:45- Richmond defender Helen Warner makes a nice defensive play to prevent Cuse from getting a shot off.

1st Half, 16:18- Samantha Ostoich gets another Richmond shot off in front of the goal, but the goalie was right in front of her and blocked it easily.

1st Half, 18:59- Side note: Peterson and the Syracuse player defending her have the same lime green stick. Meanwhile, Richmond forces the Syracuse goalie to make another nice save. Momentum seems to be favoring the Spiders at this point in the game.

1st Half, 21:10- Richmond is given another penalty corner, Peterson passes to Straniero again. This time, the shot is blocked by a diving Syracuse goalkeeper.

1st Half, 23:13- Richmond earns the game's first penalty corner. The shot by senior Emily Straniero goes into the cage, but is also negated by a penalty.

1st Half, 23:39- Syracuse almost scores, but the goal is negated by a penalty.

1st Half, 24:44- Early on, it looks like Richmond's gameplan is to play solid defense and hope to score a goal on a fast break, as only Peterson is staying up on offense.

1st Half, 27:25- Peterson makes another nice run towards the goal, but lets the ball get too far out in front and it goes out of bounds.

1st Half, 29:31- Richmond takes the game's first shot, but it goes well wide to the left. The shot came after a foul was called against a Syracuse defender, as Richmond's Katelin Peterson and Samantha Ostoich were trying to get out on a fast break.

1st Half, 31:14- Cuse makes a nice run into the box after applying pressure, but Richmond defender Liesl Schnuck is able to stop the momentum and get the ball out from the Spider goal.

1st Half, 34:55- Syracuse starts with the ball, and this game is underway.

Pregame- Teams being introduced now. There's a cool breeze in the air, but it's not cold enough to be any factor in the game; many of the players on both teams have chosen to forgo sleeves. Richmond huddles up, and shouts, "United," the team's slogan for the season.

Pregame- Some interesting notes about this matchup. Syracuse is coached by former Richmond coach Ange Bradley. Last time these two teams met in an NCAA tournament was 1991 in men's basketball, when Richmond pulled off the upset as the 15 seed. We'll see if they can pull off the same kind of upset today as the 14 seed. Start time now less than four minutes away.

Pregame- To those of you that are awake, welcome to my first ever live field hockey blog. We're on the road today, and we'll be heading to Delaware later for the football game, but we decided to stop off in College Park, Md., to see the Spiders take on Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The game is set to start in just over 15 minutes.

Contact staff writer David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu