RICHMOND, Va. — The University of Richmond men's lacrosse program played its first game in program history February 8, 2014 against the Virginia Cavaliers, and nine years later, the Spiders have a statement victory, knocking off No. 2 and defending national champion Virginia 17-13 Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 4,241 at Robins Stadium.
The win is a milestone for many reasons in the Spiders' program history, including:
- The first victory over Virginia in program history, snapping a seven-game skid in the series.
- The highest-ranked victory in program history against No. 2 Virginia, surpassing a win over No. 6 Notre Dame in 2019.
- Snapping Virginia's 73-game winning streak against in-state foes, giving the Cavaliers their first loss in the Commonwealth since April 23, 1977 (Washington & Lee).
The Spiders used a strong second quarter to claw back in the game and controlled play into the second half in the win. Richmond's starting attack unit of Ryan Lanchbury (Burlington, Ontario), Dalton Young (Chantilly, Va.) and Ryan Dunn (Towson, Md.) led the offense as the three combined to score 11 of the Spiders' 17 goals and record 17 total points in the victory.
Lanchbury scored four goals and added an assist, including the go-ahead goal with one second remaining in the first half. He also added the first goal of the second half to extend the lead and added to pivotal goals in the fourth quarter as Virginia tried to rally. He ran his point-scoring streak to 52 straight games in his career.
This 🆆🅸🅽 is for all of the 🕷!#OneRichmond @SpiderAthletics @urichmond pic.twitter.com/316IPUR4vZ
— Richmond Lacrosse (@SpiderMLAX) April 2, 2022
Young led the way with seven points total, scoring four goals and adding three assists. His play ignited the Spiders in the first half, scoring a hat trick in the opening 30 minutes. Dunn continued his strong play of late, adding three goals and two assists for the five-point effort.
Defensively, the Spiders limited Virginia's high-scoring offense to 13 goals. The Cavaliers entered the game fourth in the country in scoring offense, averaging 16 goals per game.
Freshman defender Griffin Kology (Chatham, N.J.) led the way with six ground balls while senior defender Jake Saunders (Oakville, Ontario) forced a pair of turnovers. The Spiders as a team forced Virginia into seven turnovers while redshirt freshman Zach Vigue (Apex, N.C.) picked up his second career win in as many starts. Vigue posted a career-high 16 saves and helped to keep the Cavaliers with only one fourth quarter goal.
Virginia (7-2) controlled play early in the first quarter, outscoring the Spiders by a 7-4 margin and winning 10-of-12 faceoffs in the opening frame thanks to Petey LaSalla starting 9-of-10 before being injured. Young scored two goals late in the first quarter to keep the Spiders within striking distance.
HISTORY: Every DI men's lacrosse champion since 1971
Freshman faceoff Jared Chenoy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) settled in and won 6-of-8 faceoffs in the second quarter as the Spiders out-scored Virginia 6-2 in the frame. Richmond scored the final five goals of the first half and the first two of the second half, stringing together seven straight. The Spiders took a 9-5 deficit and turned it into a 12-9 lead in a span of 13:37 on the game clock.
Virginia pulled within two at 14-12 late in the third quarter before Richmond picked up two big goals to push the lead back out. Young scored on the man-up scenario before Lanchbury buried one for a four-goal lead with 7:54 remaining. The Spiders were able to weather the Virginia push and Lanchbury capped the victory with a goal with 35 seconds remaining sending the Spider faithful into a frenzy.
Junior midfielder Mitch Pfeiffer (Canandaigua, N.Y.) gave the Spiders a boost, scoring a career-high two goals in the game. Sophomore Jeff Nugent (Monroe, Conn.) returned from injury, playing just his second game of the year and scored a big goal in the second quarter.
Chenoy finished the game 12-of-30 at the faceoff circle and picked up a team-high seven ground balls. The faceoff team's play in the final three quarters played a huge role in the Spiders' victory.
The Spiders return to Southern Conference play next weekend on the road when they travel to No. 12 Jacksonville Saturday. Faceoff is set for noon in the Sunshine State.
