End Game: Richmond, Georgetown Relish the Role of Avengers

Of the 15 automatic qualifying teams in the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse tournament, only two finished lower than second in their conference regular seasons.

Richmond (Atlantic 10) and Georgetown (Big East) were both No. 3 seeds that advanced to the NCAA tournament by the only route possible. They won their conference tournaments — Richmond over UMass in overtime, 19-18; Georgetown over Denver in double overtime, 9-8.

“We knew we needed to win to get to NCAAs,” Richmond coach Allison Kwolek said. “That was definitely apparent. That was a motivating factor. Their goal this year was to win the conference and get to NCAAs and progress further in May. They did what they could this year to get themselves in position, and now we’re looking to get our first NCAA win.”

Richmond finished with an RPI of 23. Georgetown’s was 25, with their best regular-season wins being over No. 36 Villanova and No. 37 Towson. The Hoyas’ win over Denver in the Big East title game was their first over a top-20 team this year.

“I would say without a doubt we needed that to get in,” Georgetown coach Ricky Fried said. “That’s something we talked about with the team. Like most teams, the team is pretty close. They enjoy playing together and being around each other, and that was the message: You talk about how much you like playing with each other. Let’s show it on the field and earn the ability to continue the season at least a week.”

Both Richmond and Georgetown overcame six-goal deficits in their championship games. Richmond did so in the second half, and Georgetown did so after Denver jumped out to a 6-0 lead.

“The biggest thing from our perspective was the first half, they played like they’d been in a championship game,” Fried said of Denver. “They looked a little more relaxed. They looked more comfortable. The second half, we played with a little more intensity and a little less fear or trepidation. We were able to move forward and chip away and fortunately hold them at bay in the second half.”

Richmond gave up the first three goals of the game after going two players down at the start due to penalties, but the message was not to panic after trailing 8-4 on the scoreboard and 18-2 in draw controls at halftime.

“I feel like our seniors really led,” Kwolek said. “People kept saying, ‘We’re going to win, we’re going to win, we’re going to win,’ and to have that mentality consistently throughout the entire game, it kept everybody’s heads in it and everybody super involved.”

Richmond never led until the final score of the game, a goal by Sam Geiersbach at the 4:01 mark of overtime. Richmond scored the final five goals, four in the final 6:37 of regulation, including one with four seconds left from Madison Ostrick to send it into overtime.

“When our defender, Julie Ball, went coast to coast and finished the goal [with 1:22 left in regulation],” Kwolek said, “that was a huge momentum play for us and gave us that final spark to tie the game up and then score in overtime.”

Georgetown’s game-winner came at the 4:02 mark of the second overtime from Big East Midfielder of the Year Francesca Whitehurst, who missed the end of last season due to injury.

“Francesca is one of the best athletes in the country,” Fried of the 2015 U.S. U19 team member. “Immediately you see that on the field. Bigger than that, she’s a player that can take over a game but wants the team to do well.”

The Hoyas overcame their dreadful start with stifling defense in the second half. They held Denver scoreless after halftime and through the first overtime, when they survived a man-down penalty.

“We lost two one-goal games, a couple 2-3 goal games against quality opponents, and I think people thought we could play with people,” Fried said. “Now we know we can actually beat a team, and that goes a long way towards confidence, because you’ve actually done it now. That’s going to be the biggest factor — the belief in themselves and their ability to actually win the game as opposed to [just] play with people that are rated highly or ranked highly.”

Both Georgetown and Richmond got revenge on their way to their conference tournament crowns, beginning with semifinal wins for both. To get to the final, the Hoyas had to beat a Marquette team that won their regular-season finale five days earlier, 14-12. Georgetown won the rematch 17-10.

“The biggest thing was execution,” Fried said. “We got a lot of opportunities the first game. The big stat for me was our top three scorers were 7-for-25 in the first game. In the second game, they were 13-for-22 with Francesca, Taylor [Gebhardt] and Morgan [Ryan]. That makes a huge difference when your scorers are playing at a high level and able to execute. That’s the biggest difference between the first game and the second game, as well as Marquette played a little hungrier than we did at times. If you’re going to learn a lesson, I guess it’s better to learn it prior to going into playoffs than during it.”

Georgetown then beat Denver, which had won their April 6 regular-season meeting 12-9. The rematch was low-scoring again.

“The Marquette game, we definitely did talk about revenge,” Fried said. “You’re playing someone five or six days later, it’s easy to reference. The Denver game, not so much. It’s a big rivalry, a good conference rivalry. I think in conference we’re 3-3 against each other. The previous two years, we beat them in the regular season and they beat us in the semis, and then this year we flipped the script a little on them. It’s a mutually respectful rivalry. We both play similarly in the sense that both teams play zone, play hard, the coaching staffs know each other and like each other and the players have respect for each other when they’re on the field.”

Richmond had to get by a George Mason team that defeated it 9-8 in overtime in the A-10 opener. Following a 20-8 win over Duquesne in the quarterfinals, the Spiders blew out George Mason out in the semifinals 19-4.

“When they started to move the ball faster, they started to find that their looks on cage were that much better,” Kwolek said of her attack. “All year, we were getting shots off. We were top four in the country in terms of shots per game. In terms of quality of shots, probably they were not the best. With the ball and people moving faster, our quality of shots was that much better. And that’s what happened towards the end of our conference play and as we headed into the tournament. That ball movement led to better quality shots that we were now finishing. Earlier, we just weren’t finishing them.”

Richmond beat UMass in overtime in the A-10 championship game for the second straight season, both times avenging earlier losses to the Minutewomen. Three of their last four meetings have gone to overtime.

“We bring out the best in each other, that competitive nature,” Kwolek said. “Whenever we see each other, it’s so competitive. It’s one of the most competitive games that we play all year. It’s just that history with UMass. That lends itself to playing really close and having great games with them.”

Georgetown hadn’t won a Big East title since 2010. The Hoyas are returning to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season after a three-year hiatus.

“We have a great senior class who’s done a lot for us in the program, not only on the field, but off the field,” Fried said. “Frankly, it was a little disappointing where our record was. When push came to shove, it was nice to be able to see their goals come to fruition. I definitely believe we can win against any opponent. It’s just a matter of showing up and playing consistently. Now they know that.”

Georgetown has the chance to play avenger for the third straight game. The Hoyas play Penn in Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday. The Quakers beat Georgetown 8-7 on March 9 and have won the last six meetings between the teams.

“I’d imagine we both have changed a bit and gotten better,” Fried said. “It’s going to be about execution at this stage. Every team here has earned the right to be here or there. And now it’s about who’s going to show up and not focus on what could happen or might happen, but go on to the next play and executing as best they can for themselves and their teammates.”

Richmond, which already has a program record for wins with 17 this season, will try to upset Friday in Princeton. The winner faces the Princeton-Wagner winner. It’s Richmond’s fifth NCAA tournament appearance. The Spiders haven’t won an NCAA game yet, but came as close as a 9-8 loss to James Madison in 2006. Last year, they lost to Northwestern 24-18.

Loyola presents another potent attack.

“Our game plan is to try to limit them,” Kwolek said. “They have All-American scorers and they work really well together. They’re similar to UMass. They work well together and they can feed the ball inside and really thread the needle. They have people that can handle the ball and can finish the ball in a crowd of people. We have to make stops and try to limit their looks. They’re a great attacking team. We need to play well and make some shots.”

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Numbers don’t tell the whole picture with Virginia. The Cavaliers rank in the top 30 nationally in just one statistical category – they’re 26th in clearing percentage. UVA also only has one player ranked inside the top 20 nationally for individual stats. Avery Shoemaker is 12th in free-position percentage.

But the Cavaliers are the No. 6 seed for the NCAA tournament because they played the hardest schedule in the country. Their No. 1 strength of schedule had them not only facing the rest of the ACC, the top conference in the nation, but also paired them up out of conference against Maryland, Princeton, Loyola, Navy, James Madison and Penn State, all top-20 RPI teams. UVA won five of those six games.

CONTROL FREAK

Among Hailey Wagner’s eight second-half draw controls in Marist’s 18-14 loss to top-seeded Fairfield in the MAAC tournament semifinals was a record-setter. The Red Foxes senior finished with 10 draw controls to push her season total to 224 and surpass the former NCAA single-season record of 217 set by Syracuse’s Kayla Treanor over 24 games in 2016.

Wagner recorded her 224 in 18 games. The next-closest player, Izzy Nixon of Yale, had 154 draw controls this year. Wagner closed her career with 574 draw controls, second all-time in NCAA history. On April 10, she broke her own program record with 23 draw controls in a game against Niagara.

TOP OF THE MOUNT

Jillian Petito saved 17 of 24 shots in Mount St. Mary’s 7-6 loss to Wagner in the NEC championship game Saturday. The Mount senior goalie ended her season ranked first in the country in save percentage at .564, a thousandth of a point better than Maryland’s Megan Taylor, and first in the country in goals against average at 7.14 per game.

Petito, last year’s NEC Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time all-conference selection, also led the country in save percentage last year and was third in goals against average. Petito helped Mount St. Mary’s set a program record with 16 wins this year.

WINNING WAYS

One of the most intriguing NCAA tournament first-round matchups pits two of the hottest teams in the country against each other. Stony Brook, on a national-best 11-game winning streak, takes on defending national champion James Madison, which has won nine straight games. Their combined 20-game win streak is more than any other first-round matchup.

Going into their play-in game Tuesday, Fairfield had won 11 straight, but lost to Wagner, which now has won seven straight. Wagner faces Princeton, which has won nine in a row. The other double-digit win streak teams have Florida, with 10 straight wins, taking on Johns Hopkins. High Point, which has won 10 in a row, meets Navy in the first round.

HISTORY LESSON

Maryland was named the No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight season. It’s the Terps’ 30th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Fellow Big Ten member Michigan is making its first appearance this year.