Lacrosse plays schools in Arizona, California over break

The University of Richmond men's lacrosse team lost 8-11 to Sonoma State Wednesday night.

The teams played at Robins Stadium, and about 20 Richmond students came to watch the game.

Richmond's head coach, Dan Chemotti, said despite the loss, the team played with energy and excitement throughout the game.

"I thought Clay Palmer and Danny Driscoll, our captains, had us ready to play," Chemotti said. "But we just made too many mistakes, and [Sonoma] picked up more ground balls than we did."

At the end of the first quarter, Richmond was winning 3-2. Toward the end of the first half, Sonoma scored three goals to take control of the game.

During Spring Break, the team played games in Arizona and California. Chemotti said that the team was focused on scoring more goals and tried not to go through lulls in the middle of the games.

Coming back from break, Chemotti is looking forward to playing in Richmond. "I'm excited to have them back on campus and focus on a nice stretch of home games," he said.

Despite the loss, spectators said they enjoyed the game and watching the Richmond team improve.

Senior Chris Dunseith is friends with some of the team members and said he has been watching their games since freshman year. "They are starting to work really well as a team," he said.

Dunseith said that he was impressed with the Richmond lacrosse program as a whole, compared with their nationally ranked opponent.

The men's lacrosse team will play Pittsburgh on Saturday on the intramural fields.

Chemotti said that going into Saturday's game, the team would be working on playing at a more intense pace, not turning the ball over on unforced errors and shooting.

Contact reporter Molly McGrath at molly.mcgrath@richmond.edu