Richards Registers a Program-Record 19 Saves to Help Louisville Defeat Florida State

Wednesday, March 4

LOUISVILLE, KY

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

3-4, 1-3

Florida State

2-6, 0-4

Florida State

Louisville

Richards Registers a Program-Record 19 Saves to Help Louisville Defeat Florida State

March 04, 2026 | Women's Lacrosse

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Haley Richards collects 19 saves, Maggie McMahon tallies four goals, two assists to lead Louisville past Florida State

By: Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sophomore goalie Haley Richards posted a school record 19 saves and senior Maggie McMahon scored four goals with two assists to lead the University of Louisville lacrosse team to a 15-5 win over Florida State in a weather-impacted Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Wednesday afternoon at UofL Lacrosse Stadium.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in ACC play while Florida State dropped to 2-6 (0-4).

"I'm proud of our effort today," said UofL head coach Scott Teeter. "I thought we had a fantastic start and then we had to respond through some adversity with the lightning delay. When you have a lengthy delay like that, who knows how you're going to come out of the locker room. It's basically restarting the day after a lengthy period that you're really not prepared for and we responded. We built a 12-2 halftime lead from that, so definitely the game was won in the first half."

Seven different Cardinals contributed to Louisville's 15 goals with five different players delivering assists. McMahon led the way with a career-high six points and Ella Berg followed closely with five points (3G, 2A) for her fifth hat trick of the season. Reese Whiteman also notched her fourth hat trick of the 2026 campaign, finishing with three goals and one assist. Charlotte Jackson tallied two goals and an assist while Grayce Kitchen, Abigail Cole and Erin Nicholson added to the scoring column with a goal apiece.

Richards' performance marked the sixth time this season the Moraga, Calif., native has tallied double digit saves, bringing her season total to 92. She entered the game as the ACC and NCAA leader in saves and saves per game.

The Cards opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the game with back-to-back goals by Jackson and McMahon. The Seminoles got on the scoreboard after a goal by Alyssa Deacy with 9:41 on the clock. Moments later, lightning was detected in the area and the game went into a weather delay that lasted nearly two hours.

When play resumed Louisville went on an 8-0 scoring run with four goals to finish out the first quarter and four more to start the second. In that span, Berg tallied a pair of scores and McMahon, Jackson and Whiteman each netted their second goals of the game. Cole and Kitchen also scored during that time, extending the Cardinals' lead to 10-1.

Brynn Perkins registered the Seminoles' only goal in the second quarter with 8:02 to play in the frame, but the Cards answered with goals from Whiteman and Berg in the final 1:53 to give Louisville a 12-2 lead entering the break.

In the first 30 minutes of play Louisville outshot Florida State 26-7 and held an 11-3 edge in draw controls. Richards recorded five first-half saves while Catrina Tobin and Julia Ward combined for eight stops for the Seminoles.

Florida State would go on to threaten early and often in the second half, outshooting the Cardinals 9-5 in the third quarter and 10-7 in the fourth as each team netted three second half goals. Richards collected 14 of her 19 stops in the final 30 minutes.

McMahon started the third quarter by converting a free position shot for her third goal of the game. After winning the ensuing draw control Florida State delivered three quick shots on goal – all turned back by Richards. The teams continued to battle over the next nine minutes before the Seminoles broke through with a score from Summer Harrell with 2:13 left to play. McMahon connected on a feed from Berg for her fourth goal of the contest with 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter, pushing the Cardinals' lead to 14-3.

The Seminoles struck again with a goal from Meg Kenny coming in the first 22 seconds of the fourth quarter. Five minutes later, Nicholson capped the scoring for the Cardinals and Dearcy delivered her second goal of the contest midway through the fourth quarter bringing score to 15-5.

"In the second half, it was a back-and-forth game," said Teeter. "We got into a little bit of card trouble and didn't value the ball as much, but we played hard. We've just got to make sure that we clean up some second opportunities, especially on the defense and our man-ups and a little bit smarter decision making. All in all I'm pretty happy with today's effort. Haley (Richards) had a career day in net with 19 saves and Maggie (McMahon) in back-to-back games now has found the back of the net like we knew she could do."

In the game, Louisville outshot Florida State 38-26 with a 28-24 advantage in shots on goal. The Cardinals also led in the draw control circle 13-9 with Olivia Scroggie earning a game-high six draw control wins and Berg grabbing four. Richards led all players with six groundballs as the Seminoles held the overall 20-18 edge.

Louisville will return to action on March 12 with a midweek non-conference matchup at Cincinnati.