Selflessness, Courage, and Grit Propel Spiders on Path to Top of A-10
06/20/2025 | Field Hockey
After just one regular season and two spring seasons with Martu Loncarica at the helm of the University of Richmond field hockey program, the squad has already made fast strides forward.
Richmond completed the 2024 season with an 11-8 record and a third-place finish with a 5-2 record in Atlantic 10 Conference action, tallying four more wins from the previous year and making the semifinals of the A-10 Championship. The team’s improvement wasn’t just a bump. It was seismic. The Spiders shot up 32 points in the RPI rankings, finishing the year 34th in the nation. Among the 82 NCAA Division I field hockey programs, Richmond had the second-largest increase in RPI last season.
Richmond has benefited from Loncarica’s preference for faster-paced gameplay. That effort starts in the offseason, when no one is watching.
“We prioritized fitness, culture, and attention to detail, which are all areas that lay the foundation for long-term success,” Loncarica said. “We raised our standards, committed to a high-intensity style of play, and built a team culture centered on selflessness, courage, and grit.”
As the team adapted to Coach Loncarica’s style of play, they also came together during a three-day culture workshop last spring to define their core values and the culture they wanted to embody. These shared values are captured in a visual pyramid, proudly displayed in the locker room, team room, and printed on both player and parent t-shirts.
Senior Jess McMeeking, a midfielder from Canterbury, England, points back to the Spiders’ preseason scrimmage last season when she noticed the change in herself and her teammates. “There was a feeling throughout the whole team that we were going to do well this season (2024) as we all had confidence in each other and what Martu was teaching us.
“We were learning so fast and able to apply everything we were learning very quickly.”
The Spiders got off to a strong start in 2024, winning three straight after a tough loss to ODU, a top-20 opponent. UR bounced back to dominate William & Mary, came from behind to defeat Appalachian State, and collected an overtime win over Temple.
Senior captain Madelyn Curtis, a defender from Richmond, Va., says she saw the change during the win vs the Owls. “Throughout the spring and the fall, we had been working a lot on our skills and our style of play, but also our culture. I think the Temple game really showcased how our culture had developed and grown. In the past, we had struggled to finish off close games.
“[In overtime,] we came together and rallied as a team to get the win,” Curtis said. “It was a solid indicator of how we had become more resilient and gained more belief in ourselves.”
UR suffered a second loss to a nationally ranked Ohio State before capturing five straight victories, including three overtime wins and a 3-0 start in A-10 Conference action. The backend of the 2024 schedule was stacked with historically tough programs, including three nationally ranked teams and a former national champion.
“When building our schedule, the goal is to have a balance between challenging our team and preparing them for success in conference and postseason play,” Loncarica said. “We want to face top-level opponents to gain experience and raise our standard, but also create opportunities to build confidence and momentum.”
Richmond will have no shortage of chances to test itself in 2025. The Spiders have built a schedule worthy of a championship contender, as UR will take on 2024 NCAA D-I semifinalists Saint Joseph’s and North Carolina and host defending national champion Northwestern at Crenshaw Field on August 31.
“To break into the top 20, it’s about continuing to build on what we’ve started; staying consistent, disciplined, and committed to the daily process,” Loncarica said. “We must keep doing the right things, even when the results aren’t immediate, trusting that the work we’re putting in now will pay off down the line.”
Curtis, McMeeking, and the Spiders’ roster have bought in.
“We had success last year coming to every practice and game focusing on our pyramid and the values that are important to us,” Curtis said. “Practicing, playing, and working hard with these values in mind will set us in the right direction to be a top-20 program.”
“As seniors, [Madelyn and I] have been able to set an example for the underclassmen, through the behaviors practiced on and off the field,” McMeeking said. “Normalizing putting in extra work outside of regular practice time, always supporting teammates, and aligning with the team’s cultural values can make the Spiders a perennial contender for the Atlantic 10 Championship.”
Its goals are lofty, and its journey is long, but early returns from Richmond’s remade program indicate McMeeking may be right.
