After playing a nearly flawless first half, Jessica Hollis and her University of Richmond Women’s Field Hockey teammates allowed a pair of goals in the final 20:00 as they fell, 2 - 0, to No. 3 Syracuse in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at Maryland's Lacrosse and Field Hockey Complex in College Park, Md.
Richmond proved the more stalwart squad on both ends of the field in a scoreless first half with Syracuse. While Richmond had plenty of chances, including what looked like a score that was waved off at the last second, and granted three penalty corners in the opening frame, it was sophomore goalkeeper Anna Zarkoski who highlighted the half with a huge save on a Syracuse penalty shot.
Syracuse began to find its stride in the second half with freshman midfielder Jordan Page posting the game's first goal in the 50th minute on a blast from a few yards out after receiving a feed from senior midfielder Martina Loncarica at the right side of the cage.
Senior forward Heather Susek would add an insurance goal less than five minutes later when she slid the ball behind Zarkoski, who had stepped out to make the stop.
Senior forward Katelin Peterson paced Richmond with six shots, including four on goal, while classmate Emily Straniero secured a pair of strikes on the day. Zarkoski finished with five saves and her counterpart across the pitch in Leann Stiver ended the afternoon with four stops for Syracuse.
Syracuse held a narrow12 - 9 advantage in shots, while Richmond came away with a 5-4 edge in penalty corners.
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