University of Richmond's men's lacrosse team regained a solid lead during Saturday's game against George Washington University after returning from halftime one goal behind the Colonials.
Stronger playing during the third quarter in particular allowed the Spiders to advance from a 7-7 tie and close with a 14-7 win.
Most of the year, the team typically has struggled to maintain its endurance in the third quarter, senior Clay Palmer said.
But the Spiders silenced the Colonials as soon as freshman Greg Stern delivered an underhand shot while he was falling down, which brought the score to 8-7.
From that point on, the Spiders kept up a strong defense and continued to make goals until the final 7 seconds, with Palmer making the last shot.
The win was significant for Richmond because the team had lost five of its six prior games, Palmer said.
The game also marked an important victory for the Spiders because both teams are currently in the South Eastern Lacrosse Conference, which is part of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association league, Palmer said.
"With the win this weekend, we are now 3-1 in the SELC, and if we continue to win in the SELC, we will go to our conference tournament in Atlanta," he said.
Last month, the athletic department announced that the men's lacrosse team had joined the Atlantic Sun Conference as an affiliate member, starting in the spring of 2014, when the team officially shifts into an NCAA Division I sport.
Despite the slow start during Saturday's game, Richmond was confident that the team could deliver during the second half, given the smaller number of players on George Washington's team.
"They had a small bench so we knew that if we played a fast game, we'd tire them out, and that's what happened in the second half," coach Glenn Carter said.
Nevertheless, freshman Matt Potolicchio said that the Colonials had a great performance during the first half. Potolicchio had one goal and one assist during the last quarter of the game.
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Richmond will play Liberty University in its last home match of 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Robins Stadium. Liberty comes into the match with an 11-0 overall record and a 2-0 record in the SELC Division II conference. The Spiders will look to give Liberty its first loss of the season before heading to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the Volunteers on April 21 in the final regular season game of the year.
Contact reporter Mara Lugo at mara.lugorudner@richmond.edu
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