Nov. 5, 2010

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Senior Ryan Richter (Southampton, PA/William Tennent) registered his first career hat-trick on Friday afternoon to lead the Explorers past Xavier, 3-0, to strongly help the team's chances at an Atlantic 10 Championship berth. The Explorers improve to 7-6-3 overall (5-2-1 Atlantic 10), while the Musketeers fall to 7-6-3 (4-4 Atlantic 10).

With both teams fighting hard for an Atlantic 10 Championship berth, Richter dashed the hopes of the Musketeers twice in a three-minute span. He took a pass from Jeff Pio (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) from right to left and dribbled across the box, finding himself in front of an empty net to slip the ball past Xavier goalie Justin Marshall at the 21:10 mark.

Three minutes later, Richter put the Explorers up 2-0 when he blasted home a rebound following a saved shot by Jason Plumhoff (Ellicott City, MD/River Hill).

Richter and Plumhoff once again teamed up in the 56th minute for the third and final goal of the game. Plumhoff flicked the ball to Richter at the 40 yard mark, who then dribbled the ball down the field and shot a ground ball from right to left.

Xavier's Ryan Gray rocketed two shots on goal toward the Explorer net, but John McCarthy (Cinnaminson, NJ/Northeast Catholic) came up with the save both times.

McCarthy registered the sixth shutout of his rookie season, making five saves against the Musketeers. Marshall took the loss in goal, making three saves in his 75 minutes of play. Andre Bezzera took over netminding duties for the remaining 15 minutes and registered one save.

The Explorers edged the Musketeers 14-12 on shots and 7-5 on shots on goal. The Explorers also held a 3-0 advantage on corner kicks.

The Explorers return to action on Sunday for the final game of the regular season, when they host Dayton at 1:00 PM looking to officially clinch a spot in the A-10 tournament. The team's four seniors will be honored in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony at approximately 12:45.