Previewing Richmond’s 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule

The Richmond Spiders are the 56th team in our 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the sixth team from the SoCon. Richmond finished 10-7 overall in 2019 and 5-2 in SoCon play. The Spiders defeated High Point to win their second consecutive SoCon Championship, but fell to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s their entire 2020 schedule:

Who’s In?

• Marist Red Foxes (2/14)
• Navy Midshipmen (2/18)

Who’s Out?

• Bucknell Bison (13-11 W)
• UMBC Retrievers (17-12 W)

Circle These Dates

• 2/8 vs. Maryland: For the second straight season, Richmond’s season beings with Maryland. But this time around, the Spiders will begin at home, the first time they’ll do so since 2017. Last year in College Park, Richmond trailed 10-4 entering the final quarter but scored five straight to bring it to within one. But Maryland was able to gain possession and hold on for the win despite the Spiders’ late run, which included four straight goals from Ryan Lanchbury. This will also be Richmond’s 100th all-time game in program history.
• 2/23 at Notre Dame: Richmond has defeated a ranked opponent every year since 2016 and a top 10 opponent in three of those four. All of those have been programs from the ACC. The Fighting Irish were the victims in a rainy affair last year at Robins Stadium and couldn’t complete a fourth quarter comeback. The Spiders also played Notre Dame well in South Bend two years ago, but resulted in a loss.
• 2/29 at Duke: Two tight losses to the Blue Devils a year ago, but the more notable one came in the rematch in the NCAA Tournament in Durham. Duke built up a 12-7 lead entering the fourth quarter, but couldn’t find the back of the net for the remainder of the game. Richmond scored two early goals then two more late and was only down a goal with 26 seconds to go but couldn’t get another goal to force overtime. Midfielders Tyler Shoults (1 G, 5 As) and Tate Gallagher (4 Gs) combined for 10 points, while all 18 points recorded came from the starting attack and midfield.
• 3/21 vs. High Point: It’ll be very tough for Richmond to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. So as they’ve done previously, they’ll need to win the SoCon Tournament to play in May. One of their two toughest opponents from a year ago was High Point, who edged the Spiders with a late Asher Nolting goal in the regular season. But they met a week later at High Point with a much different result. Richmond outscored the Panthers 10-3 in the second half for an eight-goal win and their second straight SoCon Championship.
• 4/25 vs. Air Force: Richmond lost twice in SoCon play. High Point was their second loss, but their first came against Air Force out in Colorado. The Falcons used a seven-goal run to end the first half to double up on the Spiders 14-7. But in the SoCon semifinals, Richmond scored the final two goals in regulation and held Air Force scoreless for the majority of the quarter en route to a low-scoring 7-6 win. Expect the Falcons, who won the previous two SoCon titles before Richmond’s current run, to also compete for the conference crown.