RICHMOND, Va, - Despite trailing only 6-5 at intermission, the VMI lacrosse team fell by a 13-8 score to No. 20 Richmond Saturday afternoon at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Virginia, to begin Southern Conference play.

VMI outscored the Spiders 4-2 in the second period and matched the three Richmond goals in the fourth period, but Richmond managed a 4-1 advantage in the opening quarter and scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter to earn the win.

Keydet goalie Joe Riccadonna played a stellar game by earning a career-high 23 saves in the loss, topping the previous high of 16 he logged against Delaware last week. He faced 50 shot attempts from the Spiders throughout the 60 minutes of competition.

The Keydets were led by senior Brad Nardella's three goals during the game, matching his career high and giving him 10 goals on the season, a new season high for his VMI career. His previous season high was seven goals set during his freshman year in 2014.

Senior Chris Spada scored two goals for VMI while Nick Dodd, Wesley Sanders and John Daniel scored the others. Dodd, Sanders and freshman Hunter Duford were credited with assists during the match. Spada also set a career season high for goals as he now has nine on the year, surpassing the eight he scored in 2016.

Richmond was paced by three goals from Teddy Hatfield and two from Austin Brown and Dan Ginestro. Ryan Lee contributed 10 of the Spiders' 50 shot attempts, scoring one goal and registering three assists. Goalie Benny Pugh was given the win while logging 10 saves.

VMI returns to action next Friday at home where the Keydets will face SoCon foe High Point. The first faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Drill Field No. 2.