Patrick Stevens' Division I Men's Top 20: Along Came the Spiders

Apparently, Richmond doesn’t do down seasons — even when it would be perfectly justifiable.

The Spiders saw three of their top four scorers depart from a year ago, as well as a pair of starting defensemen. It wasn’t a stretch to envision Richmond struggling through its typically ambitious nonconference schedule, then improving by April and contending for an Atlantic 10 title.

That alone would have been a nod to what Dan Chemotti has built since becoming the program’s first coach.  Excluding the 2020 pandemic season when it didn’t get to league play, Richmond is 10-for-10 in reaching conference tournament finals since its debut in 2014. It is arguably the best Division I program without an NCAA tournament victory — though it came close in 2022 with a first-round overtime loss at Penn.

And when Maryland scored all seven first-half goals in its opener against the Spiders, the prospect of Richmond not sniffing the top 20 this season was plausible.

Since then, Richmond played a stout fourth quarter to close within 12-7 of Maryland; ripped Robert Morris 17-2 in its home opener; and then pounced for four early goals Saturday and held off Virginia 13-10 for their first road victory over the Cavaliers.

There’s plenty to point to, from Lucas Littlejohn’s four-goal, one-assist effort, to Gavin Creo, Max Merklinger and Lukas Olsson each scoring twice to Zach Vigue’s 14 saves.

But that was a program victory. Richmond checks nearly every box imaginable — a quality roster, a long history of player development, an entrenched program philosophy and continuity at the top. Those are the sort of things that can help a team adapt to departures both expected and unanticipated.

And they are reasons the Spiders are right back in the conversation just weeks into the season. Here’s my top 20 this week. Click here for the official USA Lacrosse rankings.