RICHMOND, Va. – The 16^th-ranked University of Richmond men’s lacrosse program battled hard but came up short Sunday afternoon to No. 2 North Carolina 14-9 at Robins Stadium. The two teams were evenly matched outside of the second quarter, when the Tar Heels outscored the Spiders 4-1 and took advantage of a 6-0 margin at the faceoff in the quarter.
 
Fifth-year senior goalie Jack Rusbuldt was spectacular in goal, accounting for 19 saves in the loss, holding the Tar Heels to their lowest scoring output of the young season. Rusbuldt’s 19 saves are the second-most in a single game in program history, trailing only his own record of 22 saves set last year against No. 6 Notre Dame on the road.
 
Sophomore attack Dalton Young and Richie Connell led the team offensively, each recording a hat trick. Young posted his first career hat trick, scoring two goals in the first quarter before adding the final tally of the game.
 
Connell posted the fifth hat trick in his first nine games of his young career, including a pair of man-up goals. Connell, who led the nation in the shortened season last year with seven man-up goals, now has 10 man-up goals in his first nine career collegiate games, ranking sixth all-time in program history for a career.
 
The Spiders (0-2) opened the scoring just 1:32 into the game as Young notched his first of the contest. Chris Gray answered back for the Tar Heels before senior attack Ryan Lanchbury scored his first goal of the season.
 
The teams traded goals for Young getting his second of the game for a 3-2 lead. North Carolina (4-0) scored the next three goals and posted a 7-1 run, breaking open the game at 9-4 early in the third. The Spiders lost 14 of 15 at the faceoff dot in the first half, leading to the Tar Heels’ run.
 
Lanchbury scored his second to stop the slide before Connell added a man-up goal, narrowing the gap to three. Graduate midfielder Tate Gallagher made it three straight for the Spiders and pulled Richmond within 9-7 at the 10:57 mark of the third quarter.
 
North Carolina responded with three straight goals, extending the lead to 12-7. Connell notched his second man-up goal and his hat trick early in the fourth quarter before the Tar Heels added two late to preserve the victory. North Carolina was led by three goals from Brian Cameron, while William Perry and Justin Anderson each added two goals in the victory.
 
Defensively, graduate long-stick midfielder Sean Menges led the way with four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Andrew Hamilton finished the game winning 7 of 16 faceoffs, with all seven of his wins coming in the second half when the Spiders won 7 of 12 in the final 30 minutes.