Spiders Down Villanova at Home Saturday
Redshirt sophomore Andrew Lopez (New Orleans, La.) connected on the first two field goal attempts of his career late in the fourth quarter as the #21/25 Richmond Spiders passed #16/17 Villanova, 20-10, at home Saturday.
Already up 14-10 with just over six minutes left in the game, Lopez lined up for his first-ever field goal attempt and connected on a 31-yarder. The following Villanova drive resulted in three plays with just one yard gained before the Spiders got the ball back and Lopez kicked a 37-yarder to seal the deal and advance Richmond to a 4-2 (2-1) record.
The Spiders put together 331 yards of total offense compared to the Wildcats' 275. Defensively, the Spiders pressured the Villanova offense all game, coming up big with four sacks led by Zander Barnett (Milton, Ga.) with two good enough for 34 yards of loss. Philip O'Connor led tacklers with a season-high 10 and added a seven-yard fumble recovery that gave Richmond the ball back as time winded down.
The win moves Richmond to 4-2 (2-1) on the season while Villanova falls to 3-3 (1-2).
Villanova struck first when quarterback Connor Watkins ran in a 13-yard carry with 2:33 left in the first. From there, Savon Smith (Winchester, Va.) picked up a season-long 49-yard rush to put the Spiders in scoring position. Smith then picked up 19 more yards on four carries during the drive to put Richmond on the Wildcats' one-yard line. Time would expire in the opening frame before the first play of the second was a one-yard touchdown run by Reece Udinski (North Wales, Pa.) to tie the game at seven apiece.
Villanova converted on a 24-yard field goal to make it 10-7 at the midway point of the second, then Richmond scored the go-ahead touchdown the following drive when Connor Deveney (Medford, N.J.) caught a six-yard pass from Udinski to take the 14-10 lead.
Richmond's defense would hold up the Wildcats from there, will their remaining drives ending in four punts, a missed field goal, an interception, a turnover on downs and a fumble.
Bryson Parker (Charlotte, N.C.) picked up his second interception of the year and Matei Fitz (Leesburg, Va.) recorded his first career forced fumble as the Spiders silenced any Wildcat momentum in the second half.
Lopez's fourth quarter kicks would add insurance points to the board and the Spiders would secure their first win over a higher-ranked opponent since they took down #18 Maine as an unranked team in 2019.
Next up, Richmond hits the road when it visits in-state opponent Hampton on Saturday, Oct. 22. Kickoff is set for 2:00.
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