Box Score Box Score
 
RICHMOND, Va. - Ahead by an 8-7 score at halftime against nationally ranked Richmond, the VMI lacrosse team hung tough but ultimately fell by a close 14-12 score to the host #17 Spiders Saturday afternoon at Robins Stadium in Richmond.
 
VMI (4-10, 2-3) trailed by a 3-2 count after the opening period then exploded for six goals in the second while holding Richmond (9-4, 4-1) to four to go into halftime with the lead. Richmond responded with six goals of their own in the third period while holding VMI scoreless, but the Keydets held the Spiders to just one goal in the final stanza and rallied for four scores to keep the game interesting. The two-score margin is the closest the Keydets have come to defeating a ranked opponent since the 1992 season when VMI defeated #13 UMBC, the only ranked win in program history.
 
VMI has officially qualified for the Southern Conference Tournament for the first time since rejoining the league in 2014, edging out Mercer for the final spot as the Bears defeated High Point Saturday by three goals but needed to win by at least seven to keep the Keydets out of the playoffs.

"I'm incredibly proud of the effort of our men today," said VMI head coach James Purpura. "Not the result we wanted but we went toe to toe with a top 20 opponent and gained valuable experience for our young team. We were up at half and battled back late to answer their third quarter run and make it a two goal game, but unfortunately we didn't have enough to pull it out. We will continue to learn from our mistakes and I'm excited to get back to work with this group. I'm proud of our group for earning the right to keep our season going by qualifying for the playoffs and playing into May."

The Keydets took 36 shots at the net to Richmond's 41 and had 16 turnovers but forced 13 Richmond turnovers to counter the effect on the possession battle. The Spiders won the faceoff battle by a 20-10 count.
 
Scout Ripley and Hartley Jordan led the Keydets with a hat trick apiece while Luke Mryncza and AJ Stamos both logged a pair of goals. Freshman Luke Rusterucci and senior Josh Bass also accounted for one score apiece. Rusterucci was credited with five assists during the contest, which is second most all-time for VMI in a conference game and most ever by a freshman.
 
Defensively, Tim Lindenbaum led the Keydets with four caused turnovers on the day and James Boynewicz forced a pair and led the team with six groundball pickups.
 
Goalie Jack Liselli played a complete game and registered 12 saves for the afternoon. Richmond keeper Zach Vigue earned eight saves to preserve the win for the Spiders.
 
Richmond senior Ryan Lanchbury tallied four goals for the day while Dalton Young and Ryan Dunn each scored a hat trick.
 
VMI will head to the Southern Conference Tournament slated for May 5-7 hosted by High Point in High Point University. The No. 4 seed Keydets will face No. 1 seed Jacksonville Thursday at 5 p.m. at Vert Stadium in High Point, North Carolina.