Charlottesville's Rob Schotta, Spiders take another lacrosse shot at Cavaliers, who are 5-0 vs. UR
Richmond senior Rob Schotta (r) is from Charlottesville and played lacrosse at St. Anne's-Belfield.
Rob Schotta
The first game in University of Richmond Division I men’s lacrosse history was a 13-12 loss to Virginia, on Feb. 8, 2014. The Spiders are still trying to get over that UVA obstacle, though they cleared several other formidable ones as the program matured.
Virginia is 5-0 against Richmond, with the next meeting Friday night at 7 in Charlottesville. Defenseman Rob Schotta is a senior Spider from Charlottesville getting his final shot at the Cavaliers.
“We always play Virginia close, and we’re very confident that we’re going to be able to stick it to them and pull out a W,” said Schotta, who’s familiar with a few Cavaliers, and played alongside one on a summer-league team.
“Obviously, Virginia’s an in-state rival and we have always wanted to beat them. We’ve beaten ACC teams before, and Virginia’s another one of those ACC teams … It’s just kind of like the mindset of not being intimidated by them.”
Since launching a Division I program, Richmond is 4-11 against ACC opponents, 4-6 against all but UVA (6-2), currently ranked No. 7 and a winner of five games in a row. The Cavaliers last won five consecutive during their 6-0 start to the 2014 season.
The Spiders (6-3), who received votes in the latest Division I top-20 poll, over the years have beaten ACC members Duke (2016), North Carolina (2017, 2018) and Notre Dame (2019). Those wins are part of their notable start in Division I (UR sponsored club lacrosse prior to 2014).
In the program’s first five years of existence, the Spiders advanced to league title games every May, and won a pair of conference championships that earned trips to the NCAA tournament (2014, 2018). The Spiders won the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles last year, and were recognized as the league’s preseason favorites this year, through a SoCon coaches’ vote.
Schotta was a catcher in baseball until he began playing lacrosse during his middle-school years. As a youngster, he attended Cavaliers’ baseball games more frequently than lacrosse games.
Schotta, who also played football, grew weary of baseball’s pace and relished the speed and physical nature of lacrosse. Beginning with his high-school years at St. Anne’s-Belfield, he regularly attended UVA lacrosse games.
“Once I picked up lacrosse, I fell in love with it,” Schotta said.
Virginia did not recruit Schotta. “I always kind of wanted to get out of Charlottesville, being such a small community,” he said. “Obviously if Virginia looked at me, it would have been a good opportunity, but I wasn’t hurt by it at all.”
joconnor@timesdispatch.com
(804) 649-6233
@RTDjohnoconnor
- BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch
- 8 min ago
Richmond senior Rob Schotta (r) is from Charlottesville and played lacrosse at St. Anne's-Belfield.
- SHELBY LUM/TIMES-DISPATCH
Rob Schotta
The first game in University of Richmond Division I men’s lacrosse history was a 13-12 loss to Virginia, on Feb. 8, 2014. The Spiders are still trying to get over that UVA obstacle, though they cleared several other formidable ones as the program matured.
Virginia is 5-0 against Richmond, with the next meeting Friday night at 7 in Charlottesville. Defenseman Rob Schotta is a senior Spider from Charlottesville getting his final shot at the Cavaliers.
“We always play Virginia close, and we’re very confident that we’re going to be able to stick it to them and pull out a W,” said Schotta, who’s familiar with a few Cavaliers, and played alongside one on a summer-league team.
“Obviously, Virginia’s an in-state rival and we have always wanted to beat them. We’ve beaten ACC teams before, and Virginia’s another one of those ACC teams … It’s just kind of like the mindset of not being intimidated by them.”
Since launching a Division I program, Richmond is 4-11 against ACC opponents, 4-6 against all but UVA (6-2), currently ranked No. 7 and a winner of five games in a row. The Cavaliers last won five consecutive during their 6-0 start to the 2014 season.
The Spiders (6-3), who received votes in the latest Division I top-20 poll, over the years have beaten ACC members Duke (2016), North Carolina (2017, 2018) and Notre Dame (2019). Those wins are part of their notable start in Division I (UR sponsored club lacrosse prior to 2014).
In the program’s first five years of existence, the Spiders advanced to league title games every May, and won a pair of conference championships that earned trips to the NCAA tournament (2014, 2018). The Spiders won the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles last year, and were recognized as the league’s preseason favorites this year, through a SoCon coaches’ vote.
Schotta was a catcher in baseball until he began playing lacrosse during his middle-school years. As a youngster, he attended Cavaliers’ baseball games more frequently than lacrosse games.
Schotta, who also played football, grew weary of baseball’s pace and relished the speed and physical nature of lacrosse. Beginning with his high-school years at St. Anne’s-Belfield, he regularly attended UVA lacrosse games.
“Once I picked up lacrosse, I fell in love with it,” Schotta said.
Virginia did not recruit Schotta. “I always kind of wanted to get out of Charlottesville, being such a small community,” he said. “Obviously if Virginia looked at me, it would have been a good opportunity, but I wasn’t hurt by it at all.”
joconnor@timesdispatch.com
(804) 649-6233
@RTDjohnoconnor
