The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Spiders down the Dukes in A-10 conference opener

The University of Richmond women's lacrosse team defeated Duquesne University 10-9 on Friday night at Robins Stadium. It was the first Atlantic 10 Conference game for the Spiders.

Senior Danielle Schaevitz led the team with three goals. Fellow senior Anne Ryan added two.

"I'm pretty ecstatic," junior attackman Caitlin Fifield said. "We had a rough non-league schedule like we talked about, so coming in and winning our first conference game is huge."

The Duquesne Dukes battled back from a 7-3 deficit at half. They were able to tie the game 9-9 with 9:17 remaining in the game.

"They're definitely one of the best teams in our conference, so I think it's going to give us a lot of confidence," Richmondcoach Stephy Samaras Mantziaras said. "For us to dig deep and come through at the end of the game shows me that we banded together and were able to rise above."

The Spiders held the Dukes without a goal for the last nine minutes of the game, including two crucial last-minute stops by the defense.

"We tend, as a young team in situations like that, to freak out or get the ball back, then throw it away," Mantziaras said. "For us not to freak out in that type of situation means the world. It's awesome."

Fifield said, "This win was awesome. Now we have to keep trucking for our next six or so conference games. We're trying to go undefeated [in conference]."

The Spiders will play their second conference game at noon Sunday against St. Bonaventure University. The game will also be played in Robins Stadium.

Contact staff writer Scott Himelein at scott.himelein@richmond.edu

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