The women's lacrosse team’s A-10 championship came down to the wire, and a first-year saved the day.

With 43 seconds to go and the Spiders up one, freshman goalie Abby Francioli made a save on a surging University of Massachusetts team to give Richmond possession as the clock wound down, and the buzzer sounded to confirm back-to-back titles for the Spiders for the first time since the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The conference title was the seventh in program history.

"I was thinking in that first quarter, 'This is a little too easy' and knew UMass was going to bring a lot back towards us," said Head Coach Anne Harrington. "That was a great game and I'm so proud of our team.”

Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year and USA Lacrosse All-American Grace Muldoon paced the Spiders and tied a season and career-high six points via four goals and a pair of assists. 

"She has come on so strong this season and has raised the bar for our entire team in every part of our game," Harrington said. 

The win earned the team an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Richmond faced the University of Pennsylvania on May 10, falling 16-5 in Philadelphia, ending its season at 13-6.

"I have to say I'm extremely proud of this team and what we were able to do and accomplish this year," Harrington said. "There were a lot of doubts with this group with how much we lost from last year, but everyone who mattered most, which is the people in that locker room, believed in what we could do and we accomplished a lot that we're proud of this season."