Snow and Spiders fall in loss to Tar Heels, 17-6

The Richmond Spiders (0-2) women's lacrosse team fell to third-ranked University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 17-6, on Sunday at Robins Stadium. Snow fell throughout the game as the Tar Heels (3-0) jumped ahead, 3-0, before Richmond scored its first goal from freshman Jesse Miller.

That would be one of the few bright spots for the Spiders, as UNC then rattled off ten unanswered goals. Richmond was able to score with just eight seconds left in the first half, bringing the halftime score to 13-2. The Spiders were able to battle in the second half, playing even with the Tar Heels, but it was too late to make a difference in the outcome.

The Spiders were hoping for a better result after their effort against fifth-ranked Duke University on Friday. While also coming up short, losing 17-13, it was a promising start to the season against the higher-ranked Blue Devils. Sunday did not reflect that promise.

"We knew UNC was a great team going into the game," junior defender Tara Coyle said. "They really came out hard in the first five minutes, which shook our confidence."

"North Carolina being ranked No. 3 in the country, we knew that they had players who stepped up in big situations," Richmond coach Stephy Samaras Mantziaras said.

"We are not going to blame anything on the weather. We did this game to ourselves. We allowed North Carolina to play the game that they did and we didn't step up."

The sentiment was reflected by Coyle who said, "The weather and playing conditions are challenges that teams face, but both teams have to find a way to work around it."

Going forward, Coyle said the Spiders may have been in need of an adjustment in their confidence level as the season moved on.

"We need to increase our confidence and believe that we can play with the best teams in the country," she said. "Duke and UNC players both had attitudes as if they were going to win the game from the start, and we need to match that confidence."

The Spiders will be traveling to Charlottesville, Va., on Wednesday to take on the tenth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers.

Contact staff writer Matt Dunn at matt.dunn@richmond.edu