The Spiders flirted with creating some separation, going up 8-5 early in the third quarter. And their superbly connected defense made life difficult for Kirst, who made only one of his first 12 shots. Even when tasked with playing defense for more than three minutes on a third-quarter possession thanks to multiple shot clock resets, Richmond found ways to hold up.
What was more problematic was keeping Cornell from doing damage in unsettled situations. The Spiders’ 18 turnovers were their most since Feb. 15, and the Big Red frequently found vulnerabilities going from defense to offense while forcing Richmond into seven failed clears.
“What I felt was the difference in the game was the transition that we gave up, which is not like us,” Richmond coach Dan Chemotti said. “Looking at the stat sheet, as hard as I felt like we played, some of the stats tell the story. That’s probably the most turnovers we’ve had all season, probably one of our worst clearing performances of the year against a non-10-man ride.”
Still, Richmond earned a 12-11 lead when Joe Sheridan scored twice in a 38-second span in the middle of the fourth quarter. But there was still Kirst to contend with, and he tied it with 6:02 remaining by finishing a Goldstein feed.
After winning the next faceoff, the Big Red required just 34 seconds to go ahead, with Long sending a pass from up top to midfielder Andrew Dalton near the crease to make it 13-12.
“We just had to stick to what we know and play together, and thankfully we were able to get a couple big transition goals and feed off that energy,” Kirst said. “We were able to trust each other as well.”
Kirst’s most valuable play may have been the turnover he caused with two minutes to go as Richmond struggled to advance a clear. Cornell gladly traded the shot clock violation for milking two-thirds of the remaining time on the clock, and Richmond didn’t set up its offense until after a timeout with 26 seconds left.
Chemotti said he called a play the Spiders had run a bunch all season, hoping to disguise it at least a little. The Spiders got three passes in before Sheridan’s pass with 12 seconds to go was just out of the reach of Lukas Olsson. No one would regain possession before the horn, and the Cornell bench began to celebrate with a few seconds to go when it became clear Richmond wouldn’t force overtime.
For Richmond, it meant the end of the most remarkable spring in the program’s 12-year history. It’s quite the claim, since the Spiders were making their sixth NCAA tournament appearance and have played in 11 conference title games — the exception being 2020, when there weren’t any.
“These guys have done something for our program that’s really hard to put into words,” Chemotti said. “They have created a true sense of belief that every time we take the field. That has existed in pockets in the past, and certainly we’ve done some good things in the past. To be able to go through this season with that sense every single game is a testament to our senior leadership. It’s bound to be program-changing.”
Cornell, meanwhile, remains in contention for its first title since 1977. It also extends the career of Kirst and a group of seniors whose first season concluded with a Memorial Day loss to Maryland’s undefeated juggernaut in 2022.
That run seemed to be the opening of a window, but Cornell lost in the first round the following year and missed the tournament altogether last season.
It has created a bit of an echo for the two best teams of Buczek’s tenure to date. The 2022 Big Red was driven in part from losing much of 2020 and all of 2021 to the pandemic.
This group learned the hard way nothing was guaranteed. And Saturday, it earned its way back, its hopes of enhancing the Big Red’s already considerable legacy still afloat.
“To have this senior class lead the way, from being left out last year, this has been where we want to go,” Kirst said. “We’re super excited for the opportunity. We learned a lot from those seniors when we were freshmen, just knowing that every day you have to look at it and not take it for granted.”
