University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Lacrosse Fall Update
10/03/2014 | Men's Lacrosse
Coming off its 2014 Atlantic Sun Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in the first year of the program's history, Richmond men's lacrosse is on the practice field for its second fall practice campaign.
Head coach Dan Chemotti noted the biggest difference between this fall and the previous one was how much less teaching of basic things the staff has to do this year.
“Last year, we had to be very patient and very basic,” said Chemotti.
“When we would start a drill, we would have 35 guys looking at the coaches to see where to go and what to do. We would have to explain the drills once, then again, then a third time. Now we have guys that have been through all this and we are much more efficient in what we do now.”
The team has conducted a few Saturday intersquad scrimmages, including this Saturday at the President's Practice Field, near River Road. They will hold a Blue/White scrimmage there Saturday morning at 11 a.m., which will be followed by a clinic at the intramural fields at 12:45 p.m. The clinic fee is $40 and more details are found here.
The Spiders only competition this fall against other teams will be at the Capital Lacrosse Invitational in Bethesda, Maryland on October 12. The invitational benefits the Mario St. George Boiardi Foundation and its mission of “empowering the next generation through academics and athletics.”
Richmond will take on Georgetown at 10 a.m. and Lehigh at 2:15 p.m. The games are held at the Landon School and tickets can be obtained online at www.capitallacrosseinvitational.org/tickets
Carrying no seniors in 2014, the Spiders return nearly every player from the inaugural team, meaning experienced players at nearly every position.
“Now we have some guys that have been through this, so the expectations are clear on a daily basis and that has been valuable,” said Chemotti. “The competition has been better than ever here, which is where it should be. The level of play has been raised, and our guys are thinking less out on the field, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Also, unlike last season, Chemotti said that there are leaders within the team that have been able to give guidance to the new players, a refreshing change that only helps to grow the program.
“We had many freshmen play all game every game last year and get every rep in practice so we are more experienced than just a large sophomore class. We also finished with a 3.0 grade point average with a new group at a tough academic school and I would sign up for that any time.”
Richmond will play nine home games in 2015, including a home date with North Carolina on Saturday, March 14. Men's lacrosse is shifting to the Southern Conference this coming year. The same six teams added Bellarmine for a seven-team conference this season, with the number-one seed hosting the SoCon Championships in May.
