The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team dropped its second Atlantic 10 game in a row, losing 21-7 to No. 2 Richmond. Robbie Granara was a bright spot despite the team’s defensive struggles.
The Spiders (8-0, 2-0 A-10) are the 5th-best scoring team in the country, but the Minutemen (7-3, 0-2 A-10) match that; they’re the 5th-best team in goals allowed per game.
However, at Garber Field, the UMass defense couldn’t keep up with the high-powered Richmond offense, which averaged just over five goals per quarter.
“Defensively, I felt like there were a couple uncharacteristic aspects from some of the guys down there,” head coach Kyle Smith said. “We really just got to be able to force better shots, so Owen Salanger was more in the game than that.”
Salanger came into this game second in the country in save percentage at .613. This game will take a big hit out of that number as the sophomore allowed 19 goals.
Still, in the early parts of the match, the sophomore kept his team in the game with strong saves.
Five minutes into the game, Gavin Creo stepped into a shot from distance that Salanger was able to follow and make his first save. The ball rebounded in front of the crease, and both teams fought for it. Lucas Littlejohn found it quickly, ripping a close-range shot towards Salinger. The goalie swung his stick low, making contact with the ball and deflecting it to safety.
Granara added another strong performance to his 2026 campaign. His four-goal game marks the fourth time in five games the attackman has scored at least a hat-trick. In last year’s matchup, the Spiders broke a three-game hat trick run that Granara was riding; this year, he extends his streak to three against them. For the first time this season, Granara now leads the team in both goals and points, passing Jack Turowsky in both.
“[Granara’s] great. [He’s] a good finisher, good shooter. He just competes and plays ball,” Smith said. “I love coaching him. He just loves playing, we feel fortunate to have him.”
The Minutemen returned two key pieces of its squad Saturday, Aiden Drunsic and Matthew Cargiulo. Drunsic, a senior, finished last season third on the team in goals and points. He did play in last week’s loss to High Point, but only registered one shot on goal. The last game the Exeter, N.H., native played was against NJIT. Cargiulo also played in his first match since the game against the Highlanders.
“[Drunsic and Cargiulo being back] means a lot,” Smith said. “Those guys have been steady players for us and good leaders.”
In the second quarter, UMass found itself a man up following a major three-minute Richmond penalty. Granara played the ball down low to Thomas Bagnall, who switched it to Drunsic on the other side of the crease.
The pass was low, forcing Drunsic to reach down to his left to receive it, meaning he couldn’t shoot at the open goal immediately. Instead, he spun 360 degrees to his left as the desperately returning defender blew right past him, leaving him a clean and easy shot on the goalie to end a 7-0 Spiders run.
The Minutemen will look to grab their first A-10 victory of the season next against St. Bonaventure. The game will be played on Saturday, March 28, at the Marra Athletics Field Complex at 12 p.m. and streamed on ESPN+.
Myles Donato can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @myles_donato.
