Terrapins topple Richmond in season-opener

During the season-opener for the University of Richmond women's lacrosse team, No.6 University of Maryland handed the Spiders a 17-6 loss Sunday afternoon at First Market Stadium.

Maryland scored six straight goals during the first half to turn a 1-1 tie into a 7-1 Terrapin lead. Senior Allison Furstenburg scored three consecutive goals to bring the Spiders back into the game, but a goal with 44 seconds left in the half for junior Brittany Jones stole the momentum back for Maryland.

"[Furstenburg's goals] were all slow down attack," Richmond coach Sue Murphy said. "When we have a slow down, we have more off-ball opportunities."

To start the second half, Maryland came out and scored three straight goals to put the game away. In total, the Terrapins outscored the Spiders 9-2 during the second half.

Senior Mandy Friend tied the game at 1-1 for Richmond off of a free-position at the 27:03 mark. Freshmen Kayln McDonough and Caitlin Fifield both scored for Richmond during the second half.

Seven Maryland players scored during the game, including freshman Karri Ellen Johnson, who scored five goals.

Starting the season against Maryland allows the Spiders to test themselves by competing against one of the nation's best teams.

"It better prepares us for the Atlantic 10," Furstenburg said of the A-10 Conference tournament. "It only helps us learn and make us improve."

The game against Maryland was the first of four consecutive games against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The next three will all be on the road at Duke University, University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia. All of the teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally, with Duke ranked No. 3 and Virginia ranked No. 4.

Richmond's next game is against Duke at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20.

"This group is still young," Murphy said. "We have to control the ball better. We have to be more mature in game situations."

Maryland controlled every major statistical category by the end of the game. The Terrapins outshot the Spiders 36-12 during the game.

Even though the Spiders have started this year with a loss, Murphy is keeping it all in prospective.

"It matters where we are going to be in April," she said.

Contact reporter Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu