RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond had 10 different players score, getting a dominant offensive performance from unexpected places to win the Inaugural Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse Championship at Robins Stadium Saturday.
 
The second-seeded Spiders (11-4) beat fourth-seeded High Point 15-8, scoring six times in the third quarter to break the game open. UR receives the A-10’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
 
Five of the Spider goals came from players who had not scored more than seven goals this season, and four more came from players with fewer than 20 goals. UR’s top four goal scorers, which carried the weight in the semifinal win over UMass, accounted for six scores Saturday.
 
Most of that scoring came in what would prove to be a decisive third quarter. Richmond scored six times in the penultimate period, including five straight from Max Merklinger’s marker at 12:15 to Tommy Stull’s score at 6:42.
 
Spider goalie Zach Vigue was brilliant Saturday and earned All-Championship honors, making 15 saves for a .652 save percentage. The Richmond defense also recorded seven caused turnovers to offset the High Point offense, which tallied 33 shots, 23 on goal. UR’s shot numbers were similar with 40 total, 24 on goal. HPU was also dominant in face offs, winning 17 of the 25 chances, with Collin Hoben winning 16 of those.
 
Ethan Slusher and Mayea each scored twice in the third to put High Point in a position to rally as they had against top-seeded Saint Joseph’s in the semifinals, but the comeback didn’t materialize this time, as the Spiders scored three fourth-quarter insurance goals that offset the trio of scores from the Panthers, two coming off the stick of Jack Sawyer.
 
Sawyer and Mayea combined to lead High Point with five goals, Sawyer scoring three of those. VanOverbeke had four assists, tying A-10 Midfielder of the Year, Lance Madonna of Richmond, for game-high honors. Both were named to the All-Championship team. Four players score two goals apiece to lead Richmond’s effort – Madonna and his brother Derrek, Dalton Young and Luke Grayum.
 
High Point (9-8) opened the scoring in the first quarter on a goal from All-Championship selection Brayden Mayea, and the teams traded goals in the opening quarter, including a pair of scores by Madonna, who tallied 10 points in two games for the Spiders, earning an All-Championship nod.
 
UR pushed its lead to three goals by halftime, with Young, the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year, scoring his first points for the title game at 6:05 in the second. Young was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Player, scoring twice Saturday with an assist after scoring five goals versus UMass for a total of 11 points in the two games.
 
Joining Young, Vigue, Lance Madonna, VanOverbeke and Mayea on the All-Championship team were Jake Saunders, Tommy Stull, and Derrek Madonna from Richmond, High Point’s Grant Ammann. Massachusetts Caleb Hammett and Mike Tobin, and Saint Joseph’s Carter Page were also selected.