Men’s lacrosse narrowly grabs victory over Lehigh University

The University of Richmond men’s lacrosse team claimed a close 9-8 victory over Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. on Feb. 22. 

The Spiders faced the Mountain Hawks for the first time with this tight matchup. This triumph leads the Spiders to 3-1 for the season, while the Mountain Hawks continue their fall to 0-4. 

The first quarter saw even play between the two teams, neither successfully expanding a score gap. Richmond senior attacker Max Merklinger netted the first goal of the game, putting the Spiders on the board. The Mountain Hawks answered with a goal of their own minutes later, tying the score. The two battled on the field, swapping points and leaving the score 3-3 when the buzzer sounded. 

The contest remained close in the next quarter, with the score remaining low. Richmond opened with three goal attempts in the first minute of play time, but the Spiders weren’t able to find the cage. UR took the lead for a moment with a goal by sophomore attacker Lucas Littlejohn, but Lehigh matched the score a minute and a half later. Both teams had chances to score, but were met with a tough defense. 

Lehigh entered the second half with determination, claiming two goals back-to-back, bringing the score to 6-4. A minute later, Richmond tallied a man-up goal, but continued to trail the Mountain Hawks when a few minutes later Lehigh scored again. As the quarter was coming to a close, the Spiders succeeded in tying the game once again with back-to-back nets of their own. 

Richmond pushed a quick lead in the final quarter with two goals in the first five minutes. The two teams continued to battle tough defenses in the scoring circle, keeping the scoring to a minimum. Lehigh managed one last goal in the last seconds of the game, closing the contest with a 9-8 win for the Spiders. 

Senior attacker Lukas Olsson and Littlejohn led the Spiders with three goals each. Junior attacker Aidan O’Neil followed with two goals and an assist, making him the 10th Spider ever to reach 100 career points. He reached this milestone in just 36 games, the fourth fastest in the program's history. 

Graduate goalkeeper Zach Vigue is approaching a milestone of his own, just two saves away from a career 500 after he tallied 13 saves against the Mountain Hawks. 

Next up, the Spiders will face Cornell University at the Robins Stadium March 2 at 1 p.m. 

The Bears have maintained a perfect 2-0 record for the season, including a 18-10 win over Lehigh on Feb. 15. Cornell will be another fresh face for the Spiders, having no playing history against the team. 

Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu