University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
10-3, 5-1SoCon
Air Force
9-5, 5-1SoCon
Second Half Rally Falls Short As Spiders Drop 9-7 At Air Force
04/22/2017 | Men's Lacrosse
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – It doesn't matter what sport it is, there can be very little difference between winning and losing, inches can determine the fate of any contest.
The University of Richmond men's lacrosse team is a prime example of that.
The 13th-ranked Spiders put together a furious second-half rally, but fell short in a 9-7 loss to long time nemesis Air Force on Saturday on Senior Day for the Falcons. Richmond has now lost just three games this spring by a total of four goals.
Junior Layne Collins and senior J.P. Forester led the offense, scoring two goals apiece on the afternoon, while Peter Moran won 12-of-20 faceoffs in the contest.
Senior Benny Pugh had nine saves in goal, while classmate Brendan Hynes had two more caused turnovers and racked up three ground balls.
Richmond grabbed momentum early when Adrian Nash made a beautiful move and fired home the first goal of the game with 9:06 to play in the first quarter.
Pugh was outstanding early, notching four saves in the first quarter and kept the Falcons off the board for the first 20 minutes of action.
Collins made it a 2-0 Spider lead with 12:10 to play in the second when great ball movement led to Tyler Shoults finding a cutting Collins, who scored from close range for a man-up goal.
Air Force started its rally with just under 10 minutes to play in the second quarter, scoring four unanswered goals before the half to take a 4-2 lead into the break.
The Falcons pushed its lead to four at 6-2 with two more goals in the first eight minutes of the second half, but Richmond would start its rally late in the third.
Eric Haehl made a cut and found the back of the cage with 3:06 to play to make it 6-3.
Teddy Hatfield and Collins both fired home goals in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to quickly make it a one-goal game at 6-5.
Air Force got a goal back, but Forester rifled off his first goal of the day with 4:52 to remaining to make it 7-6.
The Falcons would get two crucial goals, before Forester and the Spiders would try to rally in the final minute, coming up just short in the 9-7 loss.
Richmond returns to action next Saturday when they host Furman on Senior Day at Robins Stadium. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
