Spiders overpower ECU, 23-4, despite short turnaround

The men's lacrosse team defeated East Carolina University, 23-4, in its third game of the season on Sunday.

Richmond dominated the game from the beginning and led 13-2 at the half. Senior Jack Hayden was the top scorer against ECU with seven goals and two assists, but overall, the scoring was balanced among the players, Richmond assistant coach Glenn Carter said.

"A lot of times in games, the score gets spread, and guys start playing as individuals," Carter said.

The Richmond players stayed together and played a team game, he said.

Team discipline has been the theme all season, and it was a noticeable strength in this game, Carter said.

Richmond controlled the tempo of the game, took advantage of the mismatches early and capitalized on the fast-break opportunities, Hayden said.

After beating West Virginia University, 18-6, on Saturday, the Spiders spent five hours on a bus ride home and arrived late last night.

"A lot of teams might have been tired or come out flat, but our team came out strong, ran hard the whole game and played with discipline," senior captain Danny Driscoll said.

Communication between players is something the team could improve on, Driscoll said. There were times when the defense gave up open shots because of the lack of communication, he said.

The starting goalie role was a concern for the lacrosse team at the beginning of the season because all of the goalies had quit, Driscoll said.

Sophomore Michael Buckbinder played as goalie until this season. He quit because the commitment was too much, Buckbinder said.

Senior Brendan Cole is settling into the starting role as a new goalie nicely, Driscoll said.

Cole played lacrosse in high school and on the club team his first semester at Richmond, but has not played since then. He said he was a good friend of senior Clay Palmer, a team captain, who had asked him to consider playing again.

"I said I would try it out and see if I still had it in me," Cole said.

Driscoll said he had gained confidence playing defense because of Cole's success so far this season.

Carter is pleased with how Cole has been playing and said that he was getting better every day.

Earlier this month, the athletic department staff announced that the men's lacrosse team would join the Atlantic Sun conference when the team began its Division I season in spring 2014.

From a lacrosse perspective, the conference includes similar schools and institutions, coach Dan Chemotti said. He said he was excited because it was a good conference for the team to be in.

Richmond's lacrosse team will be playing its next game on Saturday, March 2, against Virginia Tech, a top 10 team.

Contact staff writer Marie Jayme at marie.jayme@richmond.edu