Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Flyers fall to Spiders; Xavier, Rams still struggling

It was an eventful weekend in women’s soccer as Atlantic 10 play continued and teams began to both emerge and fall from contention.

Maria Uminski/Collegian
Maria Uminski/Collegian
The Richmond women’s soccer team earned an upset win and a tie over the weekend, topping then-No. 21 Dayton, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon in Richmond, Va.

Sophomore Becca Wann netted her 14th goal of the season in the 60th minute on a feed from sophomore Crystal Koczot, as the Spiders (10-4-3, 4-1-1 A-10) knocked off the Flyers and sent them falling out of the Top 25 NCAA rankings.

With the win, Richmond jumps past Massachusetts for second place in the A-10 standings, still chasing unbeaten La Salle (13-0-1, 5-0 A-10).

Wann’s 14 goals are good for sixth in the nation, tied with Marquette’s Maegan Kelly and William & Mary’s Mallory Schaffer.

The Spiders 10 wins this season mark the program’s greatest total since 2004 when the squad finished 10-8-1.

Dayton (12-3-0, 3-2-0 A-10) was held scoreless for the first time all year, which is no small feat seeing as the Flyers were averaging 2.36 goals-per-contest coming into the match.

Richmond senior goalkeeper Melissa Pacheco tallied six saves to earn her sixth shutout of the season.

The Spiders continue with A-10 play with George Washington on Saturday while Dayton entertains Saint Joseph’s on Friday and Temple on Sunday.

Xavier, Rams continue to struggle

Without a win in conference play to date, neither Xavier nor Rhode Island’s luck turned around on Sunday.

The Musketeers (5-7-2, 0-4-1 A-10) fell to George Washington, 1-0, in overtime on Sunday to cap its winless four-game road trip against A-10 foes.

Colonials freshman Meg Murphy broke the tie in the 99th minute with the golden goal and George Washington (5-9-2, 2-2-2 A-10) stormed the field in celebration of the victory.

The lack of offensive production has been a problem for Xavier lately as Sunday’s blanking marks its third consecutive game without a goal.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island’s conference struggles continued as the Rams fell to Fordham, 2-0, in Kingston, R.I. URI is now 5-8-1 overall and 0-4-0 in A-10 play.

Sophomore Kelsey Dougherty Howard began the scoring for Fordham in the 37th minute on a corner kick from junior Liz Ker to give the Rams the 1-0 advantage.

Fordham added an insurance goal later on in the final minute of play as Annie Worden snuck a shot off the crossbar and in to seal the victory for the Rams.

Despite the lack of scoring, URI outshot Fordham, 11-10. Scoring has become an Achilles heel for URI as the Rams have yet to score in A-10 play.

Xavier returns to action this weekend with home matches against Temple on Friday and Saint Joseph’s on Sunday. Rhode Island will stay on its home turf for Friday’s match against St. Bonaventure and Sunday’s showdown with Duquesne.

Washington, Hawkins, Sousa honored

La Salle forward Renee Washington and Saint Joseph’s forward Mo Hawkins were named this week’s Atlantic 10 Co-Players of the Week on Monday, while Massachusetts forward Tori Sousa was dubbed the Rookie of the Week.

Washington, a Pennington, N.J. native, scored the game-winner in the Explorers’ 3-2 overtime victory over UMass on Sunday to keep La Salle’s undefeated season alive. It marked the second consecutive week in which the sophomore has received the honor.

Hawkins earned a hat trick in the Hawks’ 7-1 beat down over Temple on Friday and assisted on the first goal of the contest. The sophomore from Philadelphia, Pa. leads Saint Joseph’s in scoring with eight goals and 18 points.

Sousa netted the first two goals of her career over the weekend, one coming in the Minutemen’s 2-0 win over Fordham and the other in their 3-2 overtime loss to La Salle. The freshman native of Nashua, N.H. is only the second player to score against the Explorers this season. The goal gave UMass a 1-0 lead early.

Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected].

 

 

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