Field hockey downs St. Joe's in final regular season game

Last Sunday on Senior Day, Richmond destroyed whatever hopes St. Joseph's had of making the Atlantic 10 tournament with a 5-0 shutout win.

Richmond, who had already guaranteed itself a spot in the tournament as the 2 seed, was hoping to finish off the regular season strong. "Today was huge to get the win. We really want to just go into the A10s with fire under our belt," said senior forward Christina Amorose.

It seemed fairly obvious after the first 10 minutes that Richmond was going to be a tough team to beat. After almost 30 minutes of constant attacks and corners by Richmond, Samantha Ostoich was finally able to put one in the net. At the end of the first half, the score was 1-0 and still close.

Richmond was finally able to break away in the second half, scoring what seemed to be constant goals. Sophomore Taylor Deitrick notched two goals, and Amy Cooke and Kelly Quinn each scored one. Though Richmond's offense was great, the defense was even better. St. Joe's barely held position on Richmond's half of the field and after 70 minutes, St. Joe's was only able to get off two shots.

Once the whistle blew, Richmond had its 13th win of the season. Coach Gina Lucido said she was happy about how the team played. "It was absolutely vital today to win and to win well, and I'm so pleased that they did. It was an outstanding team performance," she said.

The team travels to University of Massachusetts this Friday to take on the 3 seed, Lock Haven, in the A-10 semifinals. Richmond beat Lock Haven in the regular season, 2-1. If the team wins Friday, it will compete in the A-10 finals against either UMass or VCU Saturday.

Contact reporter Ken Hoffman at ken.hoffman@richmond.edu