The University of Richmond women’s lacrosse team persevered in a 13-9 victory over St. Bonaventure University on March 22 after the score remained locked until the final quarter.
The Spiders came close to losing their first game to the Bonnies since 2006, a team that has only beat Richmond twice in its 23 game history. In 2024, UR grabbed a decisive 19-7 victory over St. Bonaventure, but faced more troubles this season. This loss marks the Bonnies’ first conference loss of the season, dropping them to 2-1 for conference play.
"We saw a really talented Bonaventure team today. Coach Stauffer has built a program with strong fundamentals and a lot of fight," said Head Coach Anne Harrington in a postgame press release.
Neither team was able to break away from back-and-forth play as the contest began. The first quarter saw the most scoring with both teams tallying five goals. Richmond had a variety of Spiders pick up points, as each goal was netted by a different player.
Scoring dramatically slowed as the second quarter didn’t see a goal until seven and half minutes remained on the clock. Junior attacker Charlotte Edwards’ free position goal for Richmond sparked an onslaught of goals for the rest of the half. The Spiders desperately looked for separation as time ticked by, outscoring the Bonnies 2-1. However, they couldn’t succeed as St. Bonaventure took the last goal of the quarter, once again tying the game 8-8 at the break.
Richmond doubled the Bonnies in shots on goal during the third quarter, and yet, matched them in scoring 1-1. They swapped goals, and even yellow cards as the game continued to go nowhere. Frustrated, the Spiders attempted to change up their method of attack.
“We knew this game was going to be a challenge from start to finish,” Harrington said. “I'm really happy with how our team worked [through] the problem and made adjustments throughout the entire game. We remained calm and kept grinding, trusting the person next to us. Our draw unit came in clutch today against one of the best in the country. Our team ride was critical in getting us the extra offensive possessions we needed in the fourth quarter.”
The idea of overtime loomed as midway through the fourth quarter neither team had scored. St. Bonaventure kept suffering turnovers caused by Richmond while the Spiders failed at three free position shots. Just in the nick of time, Richmond found its footing, generating a 4-0 run with six minutes left in the game. Still stumbling, the Bonnies tallied two more caused turnovers by the Spiders and only picked up one other goal with a failed free position shot in the last seconds of the game.
UR was led by junior attacker Alexis Morton, who netted four goals, followed by senior attacker Colleen Quinn and senior midfielder Grace Muldoon, both tallying three points. On the other side of the field, sophomore goalkeeper Abby Francioli carded 11 saves.
Next up, Richmond returns to Robins Stadium to take on cross-town rival Virginia Commonwealth University March 26 at 7 p.m.
The Spiders carded their first loss to the Rams last season, breaking an eight game winning streak. However, Richmond will look to protect its 4-0 home record going into the contest.
Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu
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