The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Men's lacrosse finding success through confidence and preparation

<p>Sophomore Mitch Goldberg begins an attack during Richmond's 8-2 win over Furman on April 4. Goldberg leads the Spiders with 21 goals and 65 shots this season. </p><p><strong>Photo courtesy of Richmond Athletics</strong></p>

Sophomore Mitch Goldberg begins an attack during Richmond's 8-2 win over Furman on April 4. Goldberg leads the Spiders with 21 goals and 65 shots this season. 

Photo courtesy of Richmond Athletics

After seizing a conference title and NCAA Tournament bid and losing in the first round to end a bittersweet first season, Richmond’s men’s lacrosse team (7-4, 3-0) is more than halfway through its second season and currently ranked third in the Southern Conference.

Head coach Dan Chemotti said he felt accomplished after last season and carried over some of the same approaches into this year.

“Our approach was actually to continue to focus on ourselves,” Chemotti said. “One of the things that helped us improve the most throughout the course of last year was kind of pushing aside the thought of preparing for our opponent so much to death.”

Part of getting better every day involved the extra mechanic work the team implemented in its Tuesday and Thursday practices. The coaches focused on stick work, shooting and ground balls. Everything the team worked on was to improve internally rather than focus on how to handle opponents.

“We definitely at the beginning of the year forbid anybody to talk about the NCAA tournament, even our conference tournament,” Chemotti said. “The main focus that we had at the beginning of the season was to make sure we got better each day we took the field.”

Mitch Goldberg, a sophomore attacker, said he and his team had to prepare and work hard this off-season because last year’s success drew attention to the young program, and because last year’s conference title did not guarantee success this year.

“Our team's approach coming into the season was to basically put last season behind us,” he said. “We knew that we would not be able to sneak up on teams anymore, and that we needed to work even harder in the off-season to make sure we would be prepared for the upcoming season.”

Goldberg is threat for Richmond's offense, having tallied 21 goals and eight assists so far this season.

The Spiders’ confident approach has played a huge role in the seven wins they've earned. Amid their schedule have been three nationally ranked teams: Marquette, North Carolina and Virginia.

The Spiders were unable to win any of the three games, though. But they played close games against all three teams and brought the Marquette game into overtime. The coaches and players acknowledged the value in playing ranked teams and use the challenges to prepare them for conference games.

“Playing those ranked teams and those teams that are very established, there's so many lessons to be learned,” Chemotti said. “Whether it’s in-game, pregame, whether it’s in the preparation, post-game and that's a big reason why we want to play those teams.”

Chemotti said the warm-up time before the North Carolina game was the most focused he had ever seen his team. His happiness was juxtaposed with disappointment because he said he wanted to see that type of intense focus in preparation for any team Richmond faces.

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The key to success this season seems to be in the hands of the goalkeeper. Sophomore Benny Pugh has been sensational, earning preseason conference honors and three Southern Conference Player of the Week awards for his defensive efforts.

Pugh has started all ten games and has recorded 109 saves against 295 shots faced this season.

“I do my best to take my role on the team seriously but it’s also a ton of fun, and I have found that it is very easy to be successful every week in the games because I'm playing for the guys around me,” Pugh said. “I attribute any success I have had to my team for giving me something to play for, and my goalie coach, Coach (Steve) Layne, for always being there to help me in any way.”

Chemotti said Pugh’s work ethic was a main factor in his success. “He's a competitor, he's a coachable young man,” Chemotti said. “Ben is seeing all of the rewards that come with our work.

“The importance of having a guy like Ben is you just feel even if the defense breaks down—and that's an ‘if’ for sure—but if the defense breaks down you got somebody very reliable behind the defense to make the play and to make the save.”

The goal of the lacrosse team for the remainder of the season is to focus on one game at a time and to continue improving mechanics.

“I think our team has a lot of potential to make some noise this year in the conference, and in the NCAA tournament, as long as we stay hungry,” Pugh said. “We work just as hard if not harder than any team in division-one lacrosse, and I am confident that we are coached by a top-notch coaching staff. If we just stay focused I think the sky is the limit for this team.”

With three regular season games left to play, the Spiders will face High Point University at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 12. 

Contact social media manager Olivia Healy at olivia.healy@richmond.edu

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