Only two seeds remained open as Massachusetts and Lock Haven already solidified their spots as the first two seeds in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Barring any sort of collapse in the final weekend, the Minutewomen (13-6, 5-0 A-10) and Lady Eagles (14-6, 5-2 A-10) just had to decide who would be the top seed. UMass earned that mark with a perfect 5-0 conference record.

Three teams, however, including the Spiders, still had to battle for the last two seats. Richmond (10-9, 5-2 A-10) had the advantage of hosting both of its games against Temple and Saint Joseph’s, coincidentally the other two teams hoping for a chance to play this upcoming weekend. All three teams were tied with a 3-2 conference record coming into the final weekend of regular season play.

Friday’s matchup between Richmond and Temple remained scoreless even past the regulation 70 minutes. It was junior forward Dani Pycroft who gave the Spiders sole possession of third place, seven minutes and 33 seconds into overtime. Teammate Hannah Hess carried the ball into the circle, drew the goalie and made a nice cross to Pycroft who was waiting at the far post to convert the only score of the game.

It was Pycroft’s first of two goals throughout the weekend. She also scored the first Richmond goal on Sunday against the Hawks en route to a 4-1 victory for the Spiders on senior day.

The two wins catapulted the Spiders to the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, giving them a chance to fight to defend their title of reigning A-10 champions.

Pycroft was awarded with Co-Player of the Week honors along with La Salle’s Gabrielle Nolt. Pycroft now has 30 career goals, which puts her in the top 10 on the all-time Richmond scoring list.

Temple claims final spot

It was a tall task but Temple managed to sneak into the tournament that it will be hosting come Friday. The Owls beat the No. 2 team in the conference in Lock Haven by a score of 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Caryn Lambright and junior defender Carissa Young each scored first-half goals to propel Temple (9-11, 4-3 A-10) over the Lady Eagles.

The game came after the heartbreaking loss to Richmond, which seriously threatened the Owls’ chances of moving on. However, they regrouped within the next 48 hours and coupled with Saint Joseph’s 4-1 loss to the Spiders, snagged the last seat.

Lambright and Temple took a 1-0 advantage 19 minutes into the contest. Just over three minutes later, Young, off of a penalty corner, fired a low shot past the right foot of the Lock Haven goalkeeper to double the Owls lead.

Despite being outshot 7-5 in the first half, Temple had a 2-1 advantage at the intermission.

Goalkeeper Sarah Dalrymple, one of the players being honored that game because of senior day, finished with three saves.

Temple attempts to shake off last season’s 3-0 loss in the A-10 championship game to Richmond as it hosts No. 1 UMass on Friday at 2 p.m.

LHU secures No. 2

The newest member of the A-10 conference marched its way to the second seed by going 5-2 in conference play, as well as holding the best overall record of any A-10 team.

In the final weekend, the Lady Eagles edged a desperate Hawks club on Friday, 2-1, before falling to another desperate team in Temple in the season finale.

Friday’s win came in overtime as Kristi Shepps scored her 17th goal of the season in the 74th minute.

Amy Hordendorf scored her team-high 18th goal in the second half to knot the score at one.

Shepps and Hordendorf together represent two of the top three scorers in the conference. Only Nicole McCreight of SJU has as many goals as Shepps. After the top three, the next closest goal scorer is a distant four goals behind.

The two Lady Eagles highlight a Lock Haven offense that crushed the A-10 in goals scored. The Lady Eagles had 60 shots find the back of the net throughout the season with SJU and Temple as the next closest teams with only 39 goals.

Lock Haven will look to bring its high-powered offense against Richmond in Friday’s matinee matchup beginning at 11 a.m.

Pete Vasquez can be reached at [email protected].