No. 2 Virginia handles Richmond in soggy NCAA lacrosse tournament opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (UVA Athletics Release/WDBJ) - After a lightning delay halted play in between the first and second quarters, No. 2 seed Virginia (12-3) pulled away with ease, defeating Richmond (11-5) 17-8 in the first round of the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament Saturday afternoon (May 13) at Klöckner Stadium.

With the win, Virginia advances to next weekend’s quarterfinals in Albany, N.Y., where the Cavaliers will face the winner of seventh-seeded Georgetown (12-3) and Yale (9-5). Next Saturday’s (May 20) quarterfinals will commence at either noon or 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The Hoyas and Bulldogs’ first round matchup is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday (May 13) in Washington, D.C.

The Cavaliers were led by Payton Cormier (6g), Connor Shellenberger (2g, 4a) and Petey LaSalla, who dominated the faceoff X by winning 18 of his 27 attempts. Cormier’s six goals tied for the most in a single NCAA Tournament game in school history.

Xander Dickson’s (2g, 1a) first score of the day saw him shatter Virginia’s single-season goals record as the fifth-year attackman surpassed Doug Knight’s 1996 record of 56 goals. With more lacrosse still to play, Dickson currently has 58 goals in 15 appearances this season.

Defensively, Cade Saustad held Richmond attackman Dalton Young (2g, 2a), the Atlantic 10′s Offensive Player of the Year, to just four points. Matthew Nunes (12-3) earned his second NCAA Tournament victory of his career in net after turning away nine Spider shots on goal.

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