The University of Richmond women’s lacrosse team fell 14-9 to No. 14 University of Virginia at the Robins Stadium on March 5.
The Spiders have faced troubles in the beginning of the season, recording a 4 game losing streak. UVA has historically been another tough team for the Spiders, who have only toppled the Cavaliers three times in 25 games.
“They’re a great team,” Head Coach Anne Harrington said in a postgame interview. “They helped us get better tonight.”
Both teams depended on runs throughout the game, with no back-and-forth play ever being established. In the first quarter, UVA opened the contest with a 4-0 run, taking an early lead. However, junior attacker Charlotte Edwards opened scoring for the Spiders with a man-up goal with four and a half minutes remaining. Richmond tallied two more goals, closing the period in a small 4-3 deficit.
The Cavaliers were determined to close the gap, coming into the second quarter stronger than the first. The Spiders struggled to find openings, only recording four shots, while UVA recorded 11.
Uneven scoring led the Spiders to trail the Cavaliers 10-5 at the break.
Richmond opened the second half with a free-position goal by senior midfielder Grace Muldoon. The Spiders managed another before a nine minute scoring drought incited as the two teams struggled against one another. UVA snapped the lull with the final goal of the quarter, bringing the score to 11-7.
Starting the final quarter, Richmond closed the score gap to 11-9 in the first few minutes, bringing the score within the margin of a win.
“I think that’s the exciting part,” Harrington said. “Those are the moments we train for. Ultimately, you need possession to be able to make it happen, so we struggled some stops there at the end.”
The Cavaliers shut the Spiders down as they tallied the last three goals of the game, closing the contest 14-9.
Despite the loss, Richmond is optimistic for the rest of the season.
“Obviously any loss is tough, but just looking at it we are getting better and better every game,” Muldoon said in a postgame interview. “I think we should be really proud of ourselves.”
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Graduate attacker Whitney Liebler and junior attacker Alexis Morton paced the Spiders with four points each, followed by Muldoon who carded two goals.
The Spiders begin conference play next, facing George Mason University at 3:30 p.m. on March 8 at the Robins Stadium.
The Patriots promise to be a troublesome team for Richmond to overcome. The Spiders narrowly managed a 15-14 victory over GMU last season.
“[Last season’s game] is front of mind [...] so we are definitely coming in with a chip on our shoulder,” Harrington said.
Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu
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