Field hockey team dominates Monmouth

Two goals within the first three minutes of play by sophomore Katelin Peterson led to the University of Richmond field hockey's 7-0 win over Monmouth University.

Peterson scored the first of her three goals one minute into the game when she beat a Monmouth defender to score into a wide-open goal.

"We wanted to come out with a bang and make sure that we were on top right from the start," Peterson said.

About one minute later, junior Hannah Hess set up Peterson for a shot that was saved by Monmouth goalie Melissa Katz. The rebound came right back to Peterson, who scored off the rebound.

"She's great to have behind me," Peterson said of Hess. "After playing with her for a while, we really connect. She does a great job of staying composed and feeding off the ball to the forwards."

Richmond outshot Monmouth 26-2, and limited the Hawks to only one shot on goal. Both of the shots by Monmouth came during the first half off of a corner.

"For our team to be able to play at an elite level, we've got to keep people from scoring goals," Richmond coach Gina Lucido said.

The seven goals were the most scored by Richmond since Nov. 1, 2008, when the Spiders shut out St. Louis University 9-0.

Hess added two of her own goals to increase her season total to four goals. Seniors Sarah Blythe-Wood and Adrian Picker added a goal apiece for Richmond. Blythe-Wood's goal increased her team-leading total to nine.

Richmond has started the season streakily, losing its first two games before winning the next two. Coming into the game, the Spiders had lost their last two games for a 2-4 record.

The team will try to get more consistency to its season with a stretch of eight home games and only one on the road during the next nine games. The game against Monmouth was the first of the eight home games and the Spiders will face the University of Miami (OH) tomorrow.

"Even though it was a very strong win today with some significant offensive power, we have not beaten Miami in two years," Lucido said. "What we have to do is come out and show who we can be. Nothing that we did today is going to count tomorrow."

Peterson feels that the win can be the start of a winning streak, she said.

"It's good to start off with that behind us, but the game is over," Peterson said. "It's a brand new day tomorrow. That will be out of our minds tomorrow morning cause we have a whole new challenge ahead of us, but we're pretty excited."

Contact staff writer Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu