April 21, 2008

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Junior midfielder Mandy Friend was named Atlantic 10's Co-Player of the Week for the second straight week. In Richmond's last two games of its regular season, Friend notched eight goals and six assists for 14 points on the week as the Spiders finished the week 1-1.

Friend, the native of Canandaigua, N.Y., was named co-player last week after putting up two big performances in Richmond's wins over American (4/9) and Temple (4/13).

In the Spiders' game at George Washington on April 16, Friend put in two goals and added three assists for five points as Richmond suffered its first and only A-10 conference loss, 11-10.

The two-time All-American kept her up play into the weekend as the Spiders earned their ninth win of the season over Saint Joseph's, 13-9 (4/20). Friend led Richmond with nine points, consisting of six goals and three assists against the Hawks. In the win, Friend was visible all over the field picking up eight ground balls, seven draw controls and six caused turnovers.

Not only do Friend's numbers lead her team, but her stats are at the top of several categories in the A-10. She is currently first in the conference in points per game, draw controls per game and ground balls per game with 5.06, 4.29 and 3.71 respectively.

The Spiders as a team, who just secured the top-seed in next weekend's A-10 Championships, leads several categories in the conference including goals per game, ground balls per game, draw controls per game and points per game.

Richmond will begin post-season play Friday, April 25 to take on fourth-seed Massachusetts at 1 p.m. ET.