“I thought a fantastic outing for our entire program, entire team today,” UR Head Coach Aaron Roussell said during the postgame press conference. “I think what you saw today was the depth that this group has.”
“I think the next few years are going to be really exciting for the team,” junior midfielder Jess McMeeking said before the tournament.
Given the staggering amount of new faces on this year’s roster, there were question marks coming into the 2024-25 season about how the team would fare.
“It’s the first game, right?” Rousell said. “We said that we wanted to challenge our kids. You’re coming into an environment like this against an elite champion, on the road with Temple, a very, very well-coached team. We gotta be happy with the win just getting out of here, to be honest.”
“[I knew] as soon as I caught it… I turned around and seen a convoy of blockers, like a perfect alley for me right to the sideline,” Hayes said in a postgame press conference. “I went down the middle of the field, got to the sideline, and once I got to the sideline, I knew I was scoring.”
“As a senior, we have lost to VCU the past three seasons,” senior forward Jessica Mullin said. “This is such a big rivalry and we worked really hard to prepare for this game so it just makes me really happy to finally beat them.”
“For the majority of the games we played this season… they’ve been competitive, [so] we are making some progress there,” Denton said. “We’re losing a lot of experience… the base of the team is going to be younger [next year], so that’s a challenge in itself… but we have to start new again next year.”
“[UMD] had an amazing defense, and it was hard to generate anything,” Rake said after the game.
The game started unfavorably for the Spiders, as UMass stole the ball and drove it into the circle, scoring only four and a half minutes into the game.
“We discussed that our attitude was low and that we needed to connect as a team in the second half in order to win,” sophomore forward Avery Russell said after the game.
Both the Spiders and the Blue Hens were among the cohort of teams vying for the top of the Coastal Athletic Association down the stretch last season. Combined with a 6-0 mark to open its 2024 campaign – in which UD averaged upwards of 40 points per game – it seemed that a shootout was inevitable.
“Everything was kind of going downhill,” sophomore forward Valen Luna Paratore said after the game.
“The goal went by really quick,” sophomore forward Clara Larripa said. “I didn’t even know it happened until Valen [Luna Paratore] started to celebrate. I was really happy with today.”
“We knew we had to give 100% to win this game and we did that so we’re really excited to be 4-0 in the conference,” sophomore forward Valen Luna Paratore said.
Chances for UR were fleeting as the half progressed while the Ramblers found their footing, although Loyola Chicago’s back line was kept busy by senior forward Emma Coleman and a badgering Spiders’ offensive front.
“I’m a little disappointed,” junior midfielder Madelyn Curtis said. “This is a rivalry so we all wanted to win, but there was a lot to learn from the game. We have a lot to focus on for our upcoming game on Friday."
UR just picked up its fourth victory in a row, completely flipping the script from its first two games and moving to 4-2 after taking down North Carolina A&T University 20-17.
Playing against La Salle was personal for several UR players. Sophomore midfielder Camila Daud and forward Clara Larripa transferred from La Salle to UR this season.
From the outset, the contest appeared to have the back-and-forth quality befitting two teams projected to finish neck-and-neck in conference play.
This victory leaves the Spiders 7-2 leading into their next game against La Salle University, a fellow Atlantic 10 team previously helmed by Coach Martu Loncarica.
