RICHMOND, Va. – Top-seeded Richmond wasted no time in building a lead en route to a 11-7 semifinal win over No. 4 Massachusetts Thursday at Robins Stadium in the 2026 Atlantic 10 Betterment Men’s Lacrosse Championship.

The Spiders (13-1) advance to A-10 Championship, their fourth appearance in four years of A-10 Men’s Lacrosse. Ranks third in both national polls, UR will be shooting for its third league crown.

Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Aidan O’Neil scored twice in the opening 1:04 to give Richmond a quick lead. Jack Ricciardi scored a third Spider goal less than 2:30 later. In total, UR scored six of the first seven goals, with O’Neil tallying a first-half hat trick, Daniel Picart getting the first of two goals on the day and A-10 Midfielder of the Year Joe Sheridan tallying a goal.

O’Neil tied for a game-high in goals (3) and assists (4) and he broke the Richmond single-season assists record. Connor Knight made 13 saves with a .650 save percentage for the Spiders.

Jack Turowsky kept UMass (10-6) alive with two first half goals, but Gavin Creo bookended halftime, including a buzzer-beater with two seconds left in the half, to keep the Richmond margin.

A more balanced second half helped Thomas Bagnall turn in a second-half hat trick for UMass, scoring three of four goals and sparking a potential rally that got the Minutemen within three at 12:47 on a Colin Coyle goal. But Sheridan, Picart and Zack Waxman each scored in the fourth to secure the win.

Bagnall equaled O’Neil with a trio of goals. A-10 Goalkeeper of the Year Owen Salanger had a game-high 17 saves and a .607 save percentage.