RICHMOND, Va. – Top-seeded Richmond won its third Atlantic 10 title in four years, besting No. 3 Saint Joseph’s 8-6 Saturday at Robins Stadium in the 2026 Betterment A-10 Men’s Lacrosse Championship final.

The Spiders (14-1), ranked third in the country in both major men’s lacrosse polls, earn the A-10’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UR will learn its fate Sunday night in the NCAA Selection show. Ranked No. 1 in the country earlier this season, the Spiders have a potential to host NCAA postseason games.

A low-scoring defensive battle, Richmond held a 45-34 shot advantage and scored three straight between the second and third periods that built a cushion Saint Joseph’s (7-6) couldn’t rally from. A-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player Aidan O’Neill dropped a goal with 38 seconds left in the first half, snapping a two-all tie.  Just 31 second layer, Daniel Picart, who also was named to the All-Championship Team, scored again for UR. Picart struck again in the third, bookending halftime with Spider goals.
The teams were even in goals scored in the second half, with Ben Dutton and Tra Ika, the heroes of Saint Joseph’s semifinal win over No. 2 High Point, each scored for the Hawks, as did Keaton Zavitz and Collin Campbell, who also  scored a first half goal and was named to the All-Championship Team.

But another All-Championship winner, Joe Sheridan, scored twice, including his second with four seconds left in the third quarter to squash any hope of a rally by the Hawks. UR had two goals in the final seconds of a period, Picart’s first and Sheridan’s second that took the wind out of SJU’s sails.

Campbell, Sheridan and Picart each scored twice in the championship final, while Dutton and Richmond’s Jack Ricciardi each collected two assists. The two goalies did yeoman’s work in the cage in the defensive battle, combining for 22 saves – 13 for Charlie Giachetti and nine for Connor Knight. Knight earned the goalkeeper spot on the All-Championship team.

Jared Karabinus held a slight edge in faceoffs won, with an 8-7 advantage over Vincent Gaylord. The teams were even at nine faceoff wins each. Gaylord, who won 11 faceoffs in the semifinals, was named All-Championship.