Spiders fall to Saint Joseph’s in A-10 Championship semi-finals

The University of Richmond field hockey team lost 6-1 against tournament second seed, No. 9 Saint Joseph’s University in the Atlantic 10 Championship semi-finals on Nov. 9. 

UR’s win against VCU on Nov. 1 secured its spot as the third seed going into the Championship. This meant the Spiders would be facing the Hawks, who defeated them 7-0 in a lopsided game on Oct. 18. 

The Spiders would once again be facing the aggressive offense that overwhelmed them less than a month earlier. The Hawks also entered play with home field advantage as the hosts of the Championship. 

The game had a quick start with SJU drawing a penalty corner in the second minute of the first period. The attempt fell short, as the ball went high, but the Hawks were not deterred. 

Three minutes later, the Hawks put points on the board with a swift pass from the top of the circle. 

The Spiders continued to face trouble when the Hawks expanded their lead to 2-0 with a goal from a penalty corner in the eighth minute of play. 

UR continued to struggle to keep a hold of the ball, spending a majority of the first period on defense. 

SJU missed an opportunity to score with another penalty corner in the 10th minute of play. 

As the Spiders looked for a scoring opportunity, SJU’s momentum didn’t waver. A Hawks player dribbled past Spider defenders and fired into the goal, scoring once again four minutes into the second period. 

The Spiders, now pressured by a growing 3-0 score gap, desperately worked to generate a goal attempt, but couldn’t manage the feat. 

The Hawks, however, continued their advancements, having two failed attempts in the 24th minute of play. 

The half came to a close with two more shots by SJU, leaving the Spiders with zero points on the board. 

Despite the pause for half-time, UR continued to struggle against the Hawks. 

SJU attempted two goals in the first five minutes of the third period, one of which was saved by redshirt junior goalkeeper Kristen Rake and the other went wide. 

The Hawks drew a penalty corner in the 39th minute of play. The shot was initially blocked, but the Hawks rebounded the ball into the back of the cage, making the score 4-0. 

The Spiders managed to fight back against the Hawks for the rest of the period but still left quite a scoring gap for them to close if they had any hope of pulling out a win. 

UR finally got what it was looking for in the 47th minute of play: a goal attempt. Sophomore forward Clara Larripa hit the ball straight for the cage, but Saint Joseph’s warded off the shot. 

Two minutes later, the Hawks scored again, condemning the Spiders further. Rake was pressured more in the 51st minute of play when she managed to save two shots by the Hawks. 

With seven minutes left in the game, SJU scored its sixth goal, almost matching the seven it tallied in its last game against UR. 

The Spiders finally drew a penalty corner in the 55th minute of play. Sophomore forward Valen Luna Paratore scored, managing UR’s first goal against the Hawks all season. 

This sliver of redemption fueled the Spiders further. A minute later, they drew another penalty corner but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. 

The Hawks and Spiders battled for four more minutes until the buzzer sounded, officially ending UR’s run in the Championship tournament. 

Despite the loss, the Spiders had a successful season under new Head Coach Martu Loncarica. Her first year at UR has been full of accomplishments and she plans to continue the effort in future seasons. 

“[SJU] is definitely one of the top programs in the country and we want to be there eventually,” Loncarica said in an interview with UR Athletics prior to the tournament. “In order to do that, you have to play the best teams. My goal for the team is that that gap gets smaller and smaller.”

The players are also looking forward to the future. 

“I think the next few years are going to be really exciting for the team,” junior midfielder Jess McMeeking said before the tournament. 

Contact lifestyle editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu.