College lacrosse: Lanchbury's hat trick leads Richmond over No. 6 Notre Dame

RICHMOND, — The University of Richmond men's lacrosse team earned a win over the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday afternoon at Robins Stadium in front of 1,230 fans.

The win is Richmond's fifth over a nationally-ranked opponent in the brief six-year history of the program. The sixth-ranked Irish is the highest ranked opponent that the Spiders have defeated in the program's history.

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Ryan Lanchbury led the Spiders on the offensive end, tallying three goals, none bigger than his third and final goal in the fourth quarter. 

SPIDERS SURVIVE. 🕷️@SpiderMLAX holds off @NDlacrosse on the final possession to upset the No. 5 Fighting Irish 9-8. pic.twitter.com/jLBXtt4Fdb

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 23, 2019

The Spiders improve to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 at Robins Stadium with the win. Richmond has now won 11 straight games at Robins Stadium, and have not dropped a home contest since 2017.

Five Spiders combined to find the netting on the offensive end. Ryan Lee and Tate Gallagher added a pair of goals each, with adding an assist. Teddy Hatfield scored a goal and added assist with five shots in the victory. Mitch Savoca tallied a goal and an assist in the victory with Tyler Shoults finishing with an assist.

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The Spiders jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter and took a 4-1 lead into the second quarter. The Irish countered with a 3-1 second quarter advantage, sending the hosts into the locker room with a 5-4 edge at halftime.

Lee and Gallagher tallied two quick goals to open the second half before Notre Dame rounded out the third quarter scoring with their lone goal of the period. The Spiders extended their lead to 9-6 in the fourth, and managed to hold off an Irish offensive surge to secure the win.

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Jack Rusboldt played the full 60 minutes in net, recording 11 saves in the victory. The Spider defense held Notre Dame to just eight goals, two below their season average from 2018.

Richmond continues the home stand next Friday as it will host No. 5 Duke, looking for back-to-back wins against ranked opponents for the first time in program history. Game time is set for 7 p.m.