With Collegiate graduate Jack Rusbuldt in goal, Spiders want to complete SoCon 'revenge tour'
JOHN O'CONNOR·33 minutes ago
As a lacrosse goalie, Jack Rusbuldt benefited from an advantageous family connection: an older brother who played attack.
Chris Rusbuldt has a few years on Jack, a University of Richmond redshirt sophomore from Collegiate who will try to maintain order Saturday in the noon Southern Conference championship game against High Point at the Panthers' Vert Stadium.
Chris Rusbuldt, who played at Washington and Lee 2013-16, launched many a practice shot with Jack in goal.
"Especially in those middle-school years, when I was kind of just starting to play [goalie], it was nice to have my brother and his friends because they made me grow up a little bit more in the goal," Rusbuldt said Friday. "They definitely were shooting on me, probably just for them to have fun and just stick me in there, not really worrying about what happens to me.
"It definitely helped me out."
As a Collegiate student, Rusbuldt liked the idea of attending a major university distinguished by athletics. He spent a year at Penn State, which is ranked No. 1, redshirting before his shift to UR.
"I always thought I wanted to branch out, get a little farther away," said Rusbuldt. "What kind of drove me to Richmond was not only the coaching staff, but also the school's atmosphere. ... When I'm at school, I don't feel like I'm 10 minutes away from my house."
The third-seeded Spiders (9-6), defending SoCon champions, reached the championship game with defense, eliminating second-seeded Air Force 7-6 Thursday night behind 12 saves from Rusbuldt. They'll look to repeat that formula Saturday against a top-seeded High Point team that's 13-2, ranked No. 11, and led by one of the nation's top offensive forces.
Panthers sophomore Asher Nolting, the two-time SoCon offensive player of the year, ranks fifth among Division I players in points, with 87 (43 goals, 44 assists).
"Not only does he have the lacrosse talent, but he also has the body and athleticism behind it," said Rusbuldt. "He's obviously a lot to handle, but then again, we have some great players on the defensive end. We think we'll be OK and keep him in check, hopefully.
"All the work you've done all season is for these moments."
The Spiders played their final regular-season game at High Point last Saturday, losing 15-14 on a goal by Nolting with 6.4 seconds left.
"We can both go up and down, but we can also play good defense," said Rusbuldt. "I don't think 15-14 really showed the defensive talent that there is on both sides. We had some lapses on defense that we're definitely going to clean up."
The Panthers will challenge Rusbuldt with several other capable shooters. Eleven High Point players scored Thursday in a 17-3 semifinal win over fourth-seeded Jacksonville. In the Spiders' semifinal, they scored twice in the final six minutes to defeat Air Force by one. High Point and Air Force were the only SoCon opponents to beat Richmond during the regular season.
"We call this a little bit of a revenge tour," said Rusbuldt. "We took out Air Force [Thursday] and we have our job set for [Saturday]. We've got to get that done as well."