Men's lacrosse drops close game against Pittsburgh

The University of Richmond men's lacrosse team lost to Pittsburgh 15-17 after a tough second half on Saturday at the intramural fields.

The first half ended with Richmond leading 6-5. Pittsburgh won the first face-off of the second half. But the team was unable to score until about two minutes into the half, evening the score for the second time of the game.

The score remained close during the third quarter with neither team taking more than a one-point lead. And the score was even four different times.

With less than a minute left in the third quarter, the Richmond coaches disagreed with the referees over the grounds of a flag. The referees' final call was a dead-ball foul on Richmond, and the team played with one fewer player for the last 45 seconds of the quarter. The third quarter ended with Pittsburgh leading 10-9.

Pittsburgh outscored Richmond by five points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Two of the five goals were made right at the edge of the goal circle. But Richmond regained the momentum it had lost at the beginning of the quarter and was able to outscore Pittsburgh 6-2 for the rest of the game. However, it wasn't enough to win and the Spiders lost 15-17.

"We came out stagnant in the third quarter," sophomore attacker Nate Volpert said. "It was tough for us. We played a lot of defense in the third and fourth quarters, a lot more than we would've liked to."

Volpert led the team in scoring with four points. Freshman midfielder Jon Magnusson and freshman attacker Matthew Potolicchio both scored three points.

The Spiders had lost to Sonoma State in Rohnert Park, Calif., Wednesday in addition to two losses and one win from games played during spring break. Assistant coach Greg Rosenberg said the traveling had been good for the team members as a means of connecting with each other but it had taken a lot of energy out of them.

Head coach Dan Chemotti was out of town recruiting, so assistant coach Glenn Carter assumed his position.

Men's lacrosse is now 4-5 for the season with three games remaining. Its four wins have come against Kentucky, West Virginia, East Carolina and San Diego.

The team's next game is against George Washington and is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 30 at the intramural fields. They will then take on Liberty on April 5 at home before traveling to Tennessee for the season finale on April 21.

Contact staff writer Rebecca Wilson at rebecca.wilson@richmond.edu