Normally, giving up a tying goal with a second left in regulation would be a deflating experience.

For all Richmond dealt with last weekend against Towson, it was just one more obstacle in a game full of them.

“Guys came into huddle, and we said, ‘It wouldn’t be right if this game didn’t go into overtime,’” coach Dan Chemotti said. “It was a, ‘Are we having fun yet?’ kind of comment.”

The Spiders eventually prevailed 16-15 on Ryan Dunn’s goal with 16 seconds left in triple overtime, the longest game in program history. But the real gut check happened far earlier for Richmond (3-1).

Why? Trailing 9-1 with 3:38 left in the first quarter is, as Chemotti pointed out, not something the Spiders are accustomed to.

“When you were looking into their eyes, in my opinion there was definitely a sense that there was still plenty of belief we could win this game,” Chemotti said. “If that wasn’t there, no way we would have. But I think they knew they were capable of winning the game, even with the hole they dug themselves.”

Helping matters was an offense that has shared the ball exceptionally well. Richmond has some knowns in Ryan Lanchbury (10 goals, 12 assists), who set the program career points record in Tuesday’s 17-3 rout of St. Bonaventure, and Dalton Young (12 goals, five assists). But Lance Madonna already has 11 goals as well in second-year coordinator John Hogan’s scheme.

The Spiders are averaging 10.25 assists per game, fourth nationally behind Michigan, Maryland and Ohio State. Not bad company.

“We have a couple headliners in Lanchbury and Young, and then there’s some other guys that just fit into the offense because of their unselfishness and what they’re willing to do without the ball and their overall skillset,” Chemotti said. “John has put those guys in really good places.”

By the time halftime arrived Saturday, five different Spiders had scored to trim the deficit to 10-8. Richmond finally tied it early in the fourth quarter at 13 before Will Tazewell’s go-ahead goal gave the Spiders their first lead with 9:48 left in regulation.

The teams traded goals from there, with Dunn’s winner capping a comeback Chemotti thinks could reverberate in his locker room throughout the spring.

“Towson’s not a ranked team, not what the [NCAA selection] committee would call a quality win so to speak, but Towson, in my opinion, is a damned good team,” Chemotti said. “It might not be big for the rankings, but it was huge for the growth of this year’s team to be able to really just say, ‘No, no, no. We’re not going to go down like that. We’re going to win this.’ It was a huge moment and something we’ll be able to look back on later in the season as a defining moment.”