RICHMOND, Va.- Junior Mandy Friend recorded seven points as Richmond took down William and Mary, 19-10. Friend scored five goals to lead the Spiders and added two assists. Also putting up hat tricks for Richmond was Jules Nicola with four goals and Allison Furstenburg with three. Furstenburg also tied her season-high four assists. Senior captain, Jenna Hubbard returned for her first game after a knee injury, adding two goals in her 2008 season debut.

The Spiders dominated the first half of play, putting in nine goals to the Tribe's two. Senior Claire Cunniff started out the day's scoring putting in an unassisted goal just two minutes into play. Less than 30 seconds later, Mandy Friend took the ball straight to goal to get her first notch of the game.

"We dominated in so many categories, in ground balls and all over," head coach Sue Murphy said. "We started the game really strong which is something we haven't done yet. I feel like today was a big turn around for us."

The Tribe answered Richmond's two goals with a goal off a free-position from Maggie Anderson. Anderson finished the game with four goals.

Both teams were held scoreless for six minutes before the Spiders hit the back of the net again, this time with Furstenburg's first goal of the game. The unassisted goal started a six goal run for the Spiders.

William and Mary's Jaime Sellers ended Richmond's scoring with an unassisted goal of her own with just over five minutes to play in the half. Sellers finished the game with five goals and an assist to lead the Tribe.

"Going into halftime, I was very pleased with our overall poise," added Murphy. "In the second half we did get a little back on our heels, but we were able to bounce back."

The Tribe turned their play up in the second half to go goal-for-goal with the Spiders. William and Mary scored three straight goals to cut Richmond's lead to just seven in the second half, with two goals from Sellers and one from Anderson. Then a goal from Jules Nicola ended the Tribe's hope to give an eight-point lead back to Richmond.

The Spiders had a beautiful play to wrap-up their scoring for the day. Furstenburg made a move behind the cage to get by her defender to find Friend in front of the cage wide-open. Furstenburg threw a high pass over the post, where Friend caught it in mid-air to put it past the Tribe's goalie for her fifth and final tally of the day.

"William and Mary did a great job at the end," Murphy commented. "They showed a lot of heart. I have a lot of respect for William and Mary's program.

After playing five straight games at home, the Spiders head to Blacksburg, Va. to take on Virginia Tech next Saturday March 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

* * * *

Richmond, Va. - Mandy Friend scored five goals, and Allison Furstenburg dished out four assists to help Richmond roll past William and Mary, 19-10, Sunday afternoon in collegiate women's lacrosse action at First Market Stadium.

Friend also tallied a pair of helpers to record seven points, and Furstengburg netted a hat trick for seven points of her own in helping Richmond (2-3) snap a three-game losing streak. Jules Nicola added four goals for the Spiders, who have now won three-straight in the series.

W&M (2-3) was led by senior Jaime Sellers' (Kennebunk, Maine) six points on five goals and an assist, but it wasn't enough to keep the Tribe from dropping its third consecutive game. Freshman Maggie Anderson (Richmond, Va.) added four goals in defeat.

1 2    Next  »

2008-03-02