'Cats Blanked by No. 25 Spiders 4-0

Sunday, September 16

Davidson, N.C.

1:00 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

(2-4)

Richmond

(4-3)

Team	1	2	Final F
Richmond	0	4	4
Davidson	0	0	0

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

9/16/2012 2:49:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Ashley Bailey

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DAVIDSON, N.C. - Struggling to find their offensive rhythm, the Wildcat field hockey team held off No. 25 Richmond for 35 minutes of action but could not overcome the Spiders offensive efforts in the second half and fell 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at Belk Turf Field.

Sarah Fisher made several stunning saves; totaling 10 on the day, but the Spiders (5-2) broke through the Wildcat defense in the second half with four strikes in a ten-minutes span. The 'Cats (2-5) were outshot 22-4 overall in the contest.

Freshman Melissa Funsten had two attempts on the day, while fellow freshman Danielle King tallied the lone shot on goal but was denied. Finley Amato also had a shot, but was unable to put it through. The Wildcats were awarded four penalty corners in the game, while the Spiders took six.

Richmond's Chelsea Davies led the offensive pace with five shots, scoring on one but it was Taylor Deitrick led the Spiders in scoring with two goals off four shots. Rebecca Barry recorded two assists on the day, while Kerri McDonald factored into the scoring as well with a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Kelley Wentling picked up the win. The national-ranked Spiders entered the game with consecutive one-goal losses to No. 17 Duke and No. 4 Princeton.

“I was really proud of how we came out in the first half, especially after our frustrating loss to VCU on Friday night,” said head coach Ginny Turner. “We played with a great team effort and it's disappointing that we couldn't put together an entire 70 minutes. I'm confident that we can fix some of our offensive struggles and really make our mark as we enter NorPac play.”

The two squads fought a tough, defensive battle for the first 35 minutes of play. Amato had a shot blocked early on, while Sarah Fisher made a sprawling save on Jackie Gryger on a fast break soon after to keep the contest tied at 0-0. Fisher came up with five more saves in the half and Funsten had her first shot of the day denied as the two teams battled to a scoreless tie at the end of the first half.

Deitrick and Barry combined for two early goals in the second half to give the Spiders the 2-0 lead eight minutes into the half. Fisher deflected Barry's pass across the circle in front of the net, but Deitrick was able to pick it up and shove it across the line to break the tie at 1-0. Barry then dribbled into the circle and once again sent a pass over to Deitrick, who sent it in despite traffic for a 2-0 lead.

The Spiders struck again off of a penalty corner 12 minutes into the second half. Christina Amarose took the corner, and McDonald would send the ball over to Chelsea Davies for the score as Richmond took the 3-0 lead.

McDonald then tallied goal of her own to make it 4-0. After Fisher made a save on Amarose, McDonald picked up the loose ball in front of the cage and sent it up past Fisher for the score. King had a strong shot for the Wildcats with just under 13 minutes to play, but Wentling came up with the save.  Fisher would also come up with one more save on the day, but the Spiders would end up with the 4-0 win.

Davidson will open NorPac play next weekend when they travel to Boone, N.C., on Sunday to face Appalachian State.  Game time is set for 1 p.m.