Richmond loses to Liberty for the first time in 11-season history

The University of Richmond women’s lacrosse team fell in a heartbreaking 14-13 loss against Liberty University at the Robins Stadium on Feb. 22. 

Despite a strong push in the final quarter, Richmond was defeated by Liberty for the first time in the two teams’ 11-season history. The Flames have often lost to the Spiders by a wide margin, but they got the best of them in this contest. 

“It was a tough game, a lot of credit to Liberty.” Head Coach Anne Harrington said postgame. “They’re always a scrappy team.”

In the first quarter, the two teams did a quick exchange of goals in the opening minutes, taking the score to 2-1 in favor of the Spiders. Liberty proved to be an aggressive team, tallying three fouls, a green card and a yellow card in two minutes of play. Both teams were given the opportunity of a free position shot midway through the period, but neither were able to take advantage. The  Flames closed the period with a 3-0 run in the final minute, leading the Spiders 4-2. 

The  Flames and Spiders swapped goals evenly for the first half of the second period before things went downhill for Richmond. With seven minutes left on the clock, the Flames secured another 3-0 run over the Spiders, taking a five-point lead. In a last-ditch attempt to close the gap, senior midfielder Grace Muldoon netted a goal in the last thirty seconds of the half, bringing the score to 5-9. 

The  Flames pressed the Spiders hard, giving them trouble scoring. Richmond was having trouble maintaining possession of the ball, with Liberty causing several turnovers. 

The Spiders opened the third quarter with two goals, only momentarily closing the score gap before the  Flames swept in two goals to match. Richmond was unable to gain any leverage, but managed to keep the gap within a workable margin. With a closing goal by Richmond, the score was 13-9 going into the final quarter. 

The fourth quarter saw a major effort by UR, with Liberty only managing one goal for the rest of the game. 

“We clawed our way back, but it was just a little too late,” Harrington said. “We knew we were running out of time.”

Richmond netted three goals in just over a minute, bringing them just one point behind the  Flames. Richmond called a timeout with 25 seconds on the clock. In order to take the game, the Spiders would have to get across the entire field and work past Liberty defense. They made it to the circle, but the buzzer sounded, condemning UR to its second loss in a row. 

The Spiders’ offensive charge was led by senior midfielder Grace Muldoon and senior attacker Colleen Quinn, who each scored five points. Muldoon reached a career milestone, picking up her 100th career draw control. 

Next up, the Spiders face James Madison University, another tough team that Richmond has only beaten once, in 2012. The Dukes will be coming into the game with a two game win streak after securing wins over the University of Connecticut and Virginia Tech. 

“We’re really just going to be trying to compete at practice on Monday,” Harrington said. “There will be a little bit less of a focus on JMU on Wednesday and a little bit more of a focus on us.”

JMU will host UR in Harrisonburg, Va. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. 

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