Richmond, Va. — Richmond lacrosse standouts Joe Sheridan and Vincent Gaylord were named to this week's USILA Team of the Week following their pivotal performances in Richmond's 8–7 victory over defending national champion Cornell Saturday.
Sheridan led all players with four points — two goals and two assists — along with a ground ball to power the Spiders' comeback win. Trailing 7–5 with 11:59 remaining, Richmond closed the game on a decisive three-goal run, with Sheridan involved in each score. He assisted Lucas Littlejohn at 10:03 to cut the deficit to 7–6, scored the game-tying goal at 4:43, and then set up Gavin Creo for the game-winner with 1:04 to play.
Faceoff play also favored Richmond, as Gaylord went 10-of-16 at the X and collected a game-high five ground balls. Cornell entered the matchup leading the nation at over 70 percent on faceoffs, but the Spiders held the Big Red to just 39 percent in a game where possessions came at a premium.
The victory marked Richmond's highest-ranked road triumph in program history, extended its current run to 14 wins in the last 15 games, and handed Cornell its first regulation loss since May 3, 2024.
The win carried additional significance for the Spiders. Cornell entered the contest as the defending national champion and ranked No. 5 nationally, and Richmond had previously dropped two one-goal decisions to the Big Red last season, including in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Fittingly, Saturday's matchup was again decided by a single goal and marked Richmond's first-ever victory over a defending national champion.
Richmond's momentum has translated into national recognition, as the Spiders climbed to No. 2 in the latest Inside Lacrosse poll. The program received nine first-place votes, edging No. 1 Notre Dame, which received eight. The ranking matches the highest national ranking achieved by any Richmond team since football reached No. 2 for two weeks in 2016.
The Spiders opened the year with program-best preseason rankings of No. 9 and No. 10 and have steadily climbed to successive in-season highs of No. 6, 5, 4, 3 and now No. 2. Richmond already owns wins this season over three ranked or receiving-votes opponents — No. 13 Virginia, RV Lehigh and No. 5 Cornell — and sits at 5–0 for the best start in program history, just 13 seasons removed from a 0–5 beginning as a first-year program in 2014.\
The Spiders host No. 13 Georgetown Saturday at noon.
