Field Hockey shuts out JMU for first win

After a 2-1 overtime loss to Longwood University in their season opener, the University of Richmond field hockey team bounced back with a 3-0 victory over James Madison University Aug. 27. Over 600 people were in attendance as the first whistle sounded, including members from other athletic teams at UR. 

The Spiders got their offense started early as the team set up its first penalty corner just over seven minutes into gameplay. 

While that corner did not result in anything scoring-wise, almost three minutes later, UR broke the 0-0 tie and got on the scoreboard with a goal from senior midfielder Kaitlyn Csensits, her second on the young season. Senior midfielder Ella Hayes assisted on the goal. 

UR’s one goal lead over the Dukes would not last long however, as just 45 seconds later in the first period, the Spiders reached the back of the net again, extending their lead to two goals. This time around, it was junior forward Stevie Drum who scored off an assist from first-year midfielder Charly Faherty.

Later on in the fourth period, the Spiders scored a third time after a penalty corner. Senior midfielder Alexandria Lavelle scored while assists were credited to sophomore midfielder Alexa Derr and Drum. UR totaled seven shots on the game, five of which were on goal. 

“I mean, my goodness, I was so proud of the effort that we put in and I think the girls, they made some impressive choices, right? from Friday to Sunday,” UR head coach Jamie Montgomery said after the game.

Defensively, redshirt sophomore goalie Kristen Rake had five saves on the game, bringing her total up to nine on the season thus far. In 115 minutes of gameplay in goal, she has only allowed one goal.

Over 45 minutes, the Spiders’ defensive core held the Dukes to just two penalty corners. 

“I think it was a huge team effort,” Rake said. “I think everyone just really came together. They were making all the right choices, all the right steps.”

Last year, the Spiders lost to JMU 3-1 in their season opener. With a 5-17 record all time against the Dukes, the last time the Spiders defeated the program was in 2013. 

“JMU is definitely a tough team but we really came out wanting that win and I think going forward, that momentum is just gonna keep going,” Rake said. “And now that we have this win under our belts, I think we can just keep rolling off of that even when we play really tough teams in our conference and outside of the conference. I think we’re just gonna keep playing like how we did today and keep improving off of that.”

UR’s next game is at home against American University at 5 p.m. Sept. 1. 

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.