Loss to UVA leads to NCAA Tournament first round exit for men’s lacrosse

The University of Richmond men’s lacrosse team lost 17-8 against the University of Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament May 13. 

After winning the inaugural Atlantic 10 men’s lacrosse championship, the Spiders made their second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, VA.

Like last season, however, the Spiders were unable to advance past the first round. In 2022, UR lost to the University of Pennsylvania 11-10 in overtime.

This was the second time the Spiders faced off against the Cavaliers this season as the two teams met back on March 4. 

“I think about last year, playing [UPenn], it’s a team we’ve never seen before,” UR head coach Dan Chemotti said after the NCAA Tournament selection show. “[UVA] is a team we’ve seen, okay. So, we’re gonna prepare for this one the same way we prepared for the conference tournament.”

In the first quarter, the Cavaliers had the upper hand, scoring the first two goals of the game and leading the Spiders 5-2 through the first 15 minutes of regulation. 

UR got an early goal in the second quarter, cutting the deficit to two goals. However, UR’s momentum did not last long as UVA outscored the Spiders 5-2 again in quarter two. The Spiders trailed at halftime 10-4. 

The second half saw a similar fate for the Spiders as the team was outscored 7-4 over the final 30 minutes of regulation. This resulted in a nine-goal loss for the Spiders, putting a close to their 2023 season. 

On the day, graduate attacker and midfielder Derrek Madonna and senior attacker Dalton Young, who was named a USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American, led the way offensively, scoring three and two goals respectively. 

Defensively, graduate defender Jake Saunders picked up for ground balls and caused two turnovers. Though allowing 17 goals, redshirt sophomore goalie Zach Vigue totaled 10 saves in the game. 

Despite the loss, the men’s lacrosse team’s Twitter account congratulated the team’s successes after the game. 

“So much to be proud of this season,” the account tweeted. 

The Spiders finished the season with an 11-5 record including the regular season and postseason. 

In the program’s 10-year existence, the Spiders have made five trips to the NCAA Tournament, have won five conference championships across the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Southern Conference and the A-10 conference. 

Next season, in the team’s second season in the A-10, UR will look to defend its conference championship and make its sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2014. 

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.