University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Three-Peat as Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Favorites
01/29/2025 | Men's Lacrosse
Richmond, Va. – For the third consecutive year, the University of Richmond men's lacrosse team was picked to finish first in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll.
Selected by the conference's six head coaches, the Spiders were ranked ahead of Saint Joseph's, High Point, Hobart (T-4), UMass (T-4), and St. Bonaventure. Richmond received three of the six first-place votes, while Saint Joseph's earned two and Hobart received one.
In addition to being the preseason favorites, the Spiders had five players named to the Preseason All-Conference team: attackman Aidan O'Neil, short-stick defensive midfielder Jack Pilling, defenseman Hunter Smith, long-stick midfielder Tommy Stull, and goalie Zach Vigue.
In 2024, O'Neil, a junior, started all 16 games and recorded 31 goals and 20 assists for 51 points, the second-most on the team. On February 10, he tallied six goals and six assists against Robert Morris, tying the program record for most points in a single game. His six goals tied for second-most in a single game in program history, while his six assists ranked third all-time for the Spiders. He recorded multi-point games in 14 contests.
Pilling, another junior, played all 16 games in 2024 and earned Inside Lacrosse All-American Honorable Mention honors. He scored two goals and added one assist, while picking up 31 ground balls and causing 12 turnovers. In a win over High Point on April 13, he recorded a career-high five caused turnovers, which tied for eighth in the program's single-game record list. Following that performance, he was named both Axia/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, and was recently named No. 14 on Inside Lacrosse's Top-20 Most Under-Appreciated Players for 2025.
Smith, a junior, was named First Team All-Atlantic 10 and started all 16 games in 2024. He recorded 31 ground balls, tallied 16 caused turnovers, and added one goal and one assist. He repeats as Preseason All-Atlantic 10 after earning the honor in 2024.
Stull, a senior, is another repeat Preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection. He played in 13 games, picking up 30 ground balls, causing 16 turnovers, and recorded a goal in 2024.
Vigue, a graduate student, was named the 2024 Atlantic 10 Co-Goalkeeper of the Year and earned Inside Lacrosse All-American Honorable Mention honors in 2024. He started 15 games, recording 159 saves on 507 shots faced with a career-high .556 save percentage. Vigue ranked third in the nation in goals-against average (9.26) and was 12th in the country and first in the A-10 in save percentage. He also picked up 31 ground balls and caused three turnovers. Vigue was named an Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-American Honorable Mention and earned Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week honors three times. He was also named a USA Lacrosse Preseason All-American for 2025 in 2024.
Under Head Coach Dan Chemotti, the Spiders reached the Atlantic 10 championship game for the tenth consecutive season in 2024. Dalton Young, Lance Madonna, Vigue, and Pilling earned All-American Honorable Mention honors, while five players were named All-Atlantic 10 including Jake Kapp (First Team), Smith (First Team), Jack Fabean (Second Team), Gavin Creo (Rookie Team), and Charlie Packard (Rookie Team).
Offensively, the Spiders set program records with 671 shots and 218 goals, ranking among the nation's best in shooting percentage, shots on goal, and assists. Richmond's scoring offense ranked 12th nationally, and its 4.25-goal per-game scoring margin ranked fifth in the country.
Defensively, Vigue's career-high .556 save percentage helped Richmond rank third in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 9.38 goals per game as Richmond's only losses came to top-15 teams.
The Spiders, who enter 2025 ranked No. 18 in the USILA Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, open the 2025 season on February 1 at preseason No. 5 Maryland before returning home on February 8 to face Robert Morris. Single-game tickets and season ticket packages for all eight home games can be purchased by calling 1-877-SPIDER-1, visiting the Robins Center Ticket Office, or ordering online here.
Atlantic 10 Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1. Richmond – 33 (3)
2. Saint Joseph's – 28 (2)
3. High Point – 23
4. Hobart – 18 (1)
UMass – 18
5. St. Bonaventure – 6
(Number in parathesis denoted first-place votes)
Atlantic 10 Men's Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference
MIDFIELD
Tommy Meehan, High Point
Jack Pilling, Richmond
Jesse Jason, Saint Joseph's
FACE OFF SPECIALIST
Luca Accardo, High Point
LONG STICK MIDFIELDER
Tommy Stull, Richmond
