2023 Women's Top 30: How Richmond Fared vs. Projections

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2024, our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking one last look at 2023.

After all, you have to look at the most recent results before making projections for what’s to come. To do that, we’re taking a journey through the top 30 teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse — what went right, what went wrong and what we should all think of that team’s season.

Was it a success? A failure? A mixture of both? You’ll find out our thoughts over the next month or so.

RICHMOND WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Nike/USA Lacrosse Preseason/Final Top 20 Ranking: 20/14
2023 record: 17-4 (8-1 Atlantic 10)

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Flipping the script against UMass in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship game was a great way to assuage any fears of being an NCAA tournament bubble team. That put an exclamation point on a strong final month before the NCAA tournament, a period in which Richmond went 6-0 and scored at least 17 goals in every game (and 20 or more goals in the last three).

Naturally, the Richmond offense was also a success. The Spiders were second nationally in scoring offense, with their 16.52 goals per game falling behind only NCAA champion Northwestern (16.95). Richmond had three 50-plus goal scorers (Lindsey Frank, 67; Colleen Quinn, 58; Arden Tierney, 50) and another with 41 goals in Sophia DiCenso. Tierney (94) and Frank (90) each hit the 90-point mark, and Quinn was nearly there with 86 points. Richmond generated 35.81 shots per game, another second-place finish to Northwestern (36.32).

WHAT WENT WRONG

March opened in a brutal way for the Spiders. A 20-9 loss on March 5 to Navy — a team that ultimately didn’t make the NCAA tournament — was one to forget. A 20-7 win three days later over Old Dominion appeared to get the offense back on track, but the Spiders went on the road to UMass on March 11 and got stomped 22-12. Richmond ultimately won the Atlantic 10 tournament, so its NCAA tournament bid wasn’t in question. But those losses certainly could have impacted its seeding. The Spiders were placed in third-seeded North Carolina’s pod, and after besting Marquette in the first round, the Spiders’ season ended against the Tar Heels.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT

Sweet revenge in a 20-13 romp against UMass to capture the Atlantic 10 championship. Richmond trailed 8-7 after Alex Finn’s goal with 1:45 left in the first half, but it scored the next four goals and steadily built its lead from there.

VERDICT

Richmond outperformed its preseason ranking (No. 20) and captured an A-10 crown that was very much up for grabs. It also dominated Marquette 18-8 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, giving the program its first-ever tournament win since its inception in 1983. All in all, a great season in Richmond.