RICHMOND, Va. – The No. 23 Richmond Spiders defeated the University of South Florida 15-14 on Monday at Robins Stadium. The win marks Richmond’s seventh straight victory.
With the win, the Spiders improve to 9-2 overall, while the Bulls fall to 7-3. Richmond now leads the all-time series 1-0.
Meghan Rode led the team with a career high of eight points on two goals and a personal-best six assists. Juliana Stanley also notched a career high with five goals. Alexis Morton tallied four assists, while Bridget Lonsinger and Rileigh Meyer each scored two goals. Charlotte Edwards, Emma Kroneberger, Stella Axe and Keating Hopkins each added one goal.
Lonsinger led the team with six draw controls and five ground balls.
Defensively, CC Jacobs led the team with two caused turnovers and one ground ball.
In goal, Abby Francioli earned the win and tallied 11 saves in 60 minutes of play.
South Florida struck first, scoring three straight goals in the opening minutes to take a 3-0 lead. In response, the Spiders tied the game at 3-3 before the Bulls scored to close the first quarter. In the second quarter, both teams scored four goals, and Richmond trailed 8-7 at halftime.
At the start of the second half, Richmond took its first lead of the game, scoring three straight goals to open the third quarter for a 10-8 advantage. The Spiders outscored South Florida 5-1 in the quarter to take a 12-9 lead into the fourth. In the final frame, both teams exchanged goals until the Bulls scored four straight to tie the game at 14-14. Off an assist from Rode, Rileigh Meyer scored the game-winning goal to seal the 15-14 victory.
Richmond returns to action Saturday, April 4, in Philadelphia to face La Salle.
