Back-To-Back Champs! Big Second Half Leads Spiders To Second-Straight SoCon Title

Saturday, May 4

High Point, NC

Noon

University of Richmond

10-6, 5-2

High Point

13-3, 6-1

Richmond

High Point

Photo by: Carlos Morales

Back-To-Back Champs! Big Second Half Leads Spiders To Second-Straight SoCon Title

05/04/2019 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Post-Game Highlights Photo Gallery Box Score (PDF)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The University of Richmond men's lacrosse team outscored top-seeded and No. 11 High Point 10-3 in the second half and never trailed on its way to a dominant 15-7 win, claiming its second-straight Southern Conference Tournament title. With the win, the Spiders earn the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, making their third trip in six seasons as a program. The 2019 NCAA Selection Show is slated for 9 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.

Seven different Spiders scored in the win, with senior attack Teddy Hatfield (Summit, N.J.), sophomore attack Ryan Lanchbury (Burlington, Ontario) and senior midfielder Nick D'Amaro (Manorville, N.Y) all logging hat tricks to lead the way. The Spiders' defense limited the high-flying Panthers to a season-low seven goals and marked only the second time all year that High Point has been held in single digits.

Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jack Rusbuldt (Richmond, Va.) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the SoCon Tournament. Rusbuldt set a SoCon Tournament record with 26 saves in the two Spider victories, including 14 saves against the Panthers in the championship game. Junior long-stick midfielder Sean Menges (Richmond, Va.), defender Ray Baran (Berwyn, Pa.), Hatfield and Lanchbury all earned SoCon All-Tournament accolades as well.

Hatfield becomes the first player in SoCon Tournament history to earn All-Tournament honors for four-straight years. He finished with five goals and three assists this season, raising his career numbers in SoCon Tournament play to a record 35 points (21 goals, 14 assists) in eight career tournament contests.

Lanchbury finished the game with five points, scoring three goals and adding two assists. His three goals raised his Richmond and SoCon single-season scoring record to 50 goals on the season. Menges and Baran both earned their first-ever SoCon All-Tournament honors.

The Spiders came out of the gate quickly, scoring the first goal of the game 1:34 into the contest when Tyler Shoults (Warners, N.Y.) tallied his first goal since March 9 in just his second game back from injury. High Point would answer with a goal of its own but three-straight from the Spiders, including the second of the game from Shoults game Richmond a 4-1 lead.

High Point (13-3) rallied for three-straight of its own, tying the contest at 4-4 when Chris Young evened the game up at 4:56 mark of the second quarter. Senior attack Ryan Lee (South Salem, N.Y.) added his second of the game later in the first half, giving the Spiders a 5-4 lead at the break.

Richmond came out in the second half and left no doubt, out-scoring the Panthers 10-3 in the final 30 minutes. The game broke open early in the third when Richmond scored three-straight in a span of 1:31, on its way to four-straight goals and a 9-4 advantage.

Hatfield opened the second half scoring with a goal at the 13:44 mark before Lanchbury tallied his 48^th goal of the year. Lanchbury scored 1:20 later off a Shouts assist before D'Amaro scored his first of the game, winning a faceoff and scoring in seven seconds. Lanchbury capped off the five-goal burst from the Spiders, scoring in transition off a ground ball pick up from Menges who found him in close for his second of the game.

High Point would pull within 10-6 early in the fourth quarter but the Spiders ended any doubt with four-straight goals on their way to a 5-1 edge over the final 10 minutes of the contest. Sophomore Mitch Savoca (Newtown, Conn.) got in the scoring fun with his third point of the game before Hatfield and Lanchbury went back-to-back on goals. D'Amaro and Hatfield both secured their hat tricks late in the game, catching the Panthers out of position in a last ditch effort. The hat trick was the first of the career for D'Amaro, who didn't take a face-off in the first half before winning three in the second half.

All-Tournament Team
Ray Baran, Richmond
Teddy Hatfield, Richmond
Ryan Lanchbury, Richmond
Sean Menges, Richmond
Jack Rusbuldt, Richmond
Trent Harper, Air Force
Brandon Jones, Air Force
Zack Deaken, Jacksonville
Jack Dolan, Jacksonville
Asher Nolting, High Point
Tim Troutner Jr., High Point
Chris Young, High Point

Most Outstanding Player
Jack Rusbuldt, Richmond

Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Blake Goodman, Richmond

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