Richmond field hockey team defeats Georgetown 2-0

The University of Richmond field hockey team defeated Georgetown University 2-0 Sunday afternoon with goals from sophomore Katelin Peterson and senior Sarah Blythe-Wood.

Coming off a 4-3 loss Wednesday to the undefeated, third-ranked University of Virginia Cavaliers, the Spiders tried to get back on track against the 1-9 Georgetown Hoyas.

Richmond controlled the field from the beginning, as senior Megan Thompson initiated the offensive shooting with a shot that went just wide of the net.

When Richmond failed to capitalize on initial scoring efforts, assistant coach Jodi Murphy watched her players attempt to weave through the opposition and said they had been trying to do too much.

At the 18-minute mark, Blythe-Wood beat a defender at midfield and played a long ball up to Thompson. From there, Thompson drove in from the left side and skipped a cross-pass to Peterson, who finished the play, scoring her seventh goal of the season.

With a 1-0 lead, the Spiders continued to work for shot opportunities and the Hoyas' confidence appeared to be dwindling.

Then a Georgetown defender stopped a two-on-one Richmond break and played it up to the Hoya offense. Yet Georgetown failed to capitalize on its efforts and Richmond ended the half without allowing a shot.

At halftime, the scoreboard read 10-0 in shot attempts - a testament to the Spiders' defensive efforts and possession.

Although Richmond had all the shots during the first half, the Hoyas needed only one shot to tie the game. Georgetown started the second half with a dangerous drive into the Richmond defense. But, just as in the first half, the Spiders' defense stifled the opposition, not allowing a shot.

The offense drove down the field, led by Thompson, who gave the assist to Blythe-Wood's Atlantic-10 Conference-leading ninth goal of the season during the third minute of the second half.

The assist placed Thompson in a tie for eighth on Richmond's all-time career list with 67 points.

With a 2-0 lead, Richmond had control of the game, but the Hoyas continued to press - 10 minutes into the second half, Georgetown's Annie Wilson took the team's first shot on goal. Senior goalie Jacki Raithel blocked the attempt, recording her first of three saves during the game.

The Hoyas continued to struggle, as Richmond unleashed shots on Georgetown goalie Clodagh Coghlan. Coghlan had 13 saves during the game.

The game ended in a 2-0 victory for Richmond, putting the team back on pace for the beginning of conference play.

Thompson said the game had not represented the team's best performance, but she did have some optimistic words regarding the offensive effort.

"[We] had great forward movement and kept attacking," she said.

Head coach Gina Lucido said she had thought the victory was a success because the team had wanted a shutout. The team also earned 16 corners, surpassing its pre-game goal of 10.

Lucido still felt the team had room for improvement.

"Our team needs to develop consistency in playing at a high level on any given day against any given team," she said.

The 5-6 Spiders open conference play at 3:30 p.m. Friday against the University of Saint Louis.

Contact reporter Brenton Lewis at brenton.lewis@richmond.edu