Richards Twins Lead Holy Cross Over Cherokee

It's a good thing that lacrosse players must have numbers on their jerseys, otherwise you would not have been able to tell Whitney (#18) and Hillary (#9) Richards apart on the field. The two Holy Cross juniors showed a balance of scoring, assists, and defense in helping the Lady Lancers defeat Cherokee for the first time in their lacrosse history. Senior Kristin Zucconi led all scoring with 5 goals in the 13-8 win. But the 13-8 final score doesn't begin to show how intense was the offensive pressure of the Lady Lancers.

Cherokee's Lindsay-Kate McCool opened the game with an unassisted goal at 23:58. Then Holy Cross showed why they are one of the hottest teams in Sount Jersey this year, as Zucconi and the Richards twins applied an intense offensive pressure, combining for five unanswered goals over a 14 minute span. The Lady Lancers' intense play enabled them to force Cherokee to make turnovers, out-hustling for every dropped ball. The physical play of both teams began to take its toll, then Cherokee's Colleen Burg broke the streak by scoring off an assist from McCool. McCool and Hillary Richards traded goals at the end of the half to put the score at 6-3.

After taking advantage of the halftime break for a breather, Holy Cross picked up right where they left off by scoring 4 unanswered goals (three off of free positions) to take a 10-3 lead. After Jessica Fox scored for the Lady Chiefs at the 13:25 mark from an assist by Cristin Bentz, the play seemed to slow as both teams then traded goals for the rest of the game.

With the win, Holy Cross goes to 2-0, while Cherokee falls to 1-1.

Goals:
H: Kristin Zucconi 5, Hillary Richards 4, Whitney Richards 2, Brighid Porter 2.
C: Lindsay-Kate McCool 2, Katie Costello 2, Colleen Burg 1, Jessica Fox 1, Cristin Bentz 1, Colleen Dalton 1.

Assists:
H: Whitney Richards 3, Hillary Richards 1, Brighid Porter 1.
C: Lindsay-Kate McCool 2, Cristin Bentz 2, Colleen Burg 1, Jessica Wheeler 1.

Saves:
H: Caitlin Nolan 8.
C: Chantelle McCormick 17.