Wednesday, May 7
W&L Laxmen Win ODAC
Junior Elliott Cohen tallied the game-winning goal in overtime from close range following a pass from junior James Haley to clinch the No. 9 Washington and Lee University men's lacrosse team's 13th Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament championship, 13-12, on Saturday afternoon over No. 14 Lynchburg at W&L’s Wilson Field in Lexington.
The victory earned the Generals an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament, and W&L will play host for a first-round game this weekend. For the schedule and updates, visit www.generalssports.com
With the ODAC championship game tied at 12 after a Riley Hastings goal for Lynchburg (13-6) with 2:57 left in regulation, the Generals (16-3) were able to hold for the final shot, but a Haley attempt was stopped by Andrew Miller in goal with three seconds left.
In the extra period, sophomore Tyler Spanoe won the opening face-off to set the Generals up to win the game without the Hornets gaining possession. The Generals managed four shots on that possession, but each missed the target. After the fourth attempt, W&L maintained control of the ball with just four seconds left on the shot clock, when sophomore James Cardillo was found unmarked on the back post. Cardillo looked to end the game there, but Miller came up with another huge stop to keep the game going.
With Lynchburg now in control and riding recent momentum from the fourth quarter, the Hornets called a timeout to setup a potential game-winning play. Out of the stoppage, junior Jay O’Keefe, as he did throughout the game, continued to pester the Lynchburg offense when he forced Liam Holman into a turnover, his seventh caused turnover. O'Keefe scooped up the ground ball, before Haley was needed to keep the fastbreak alive with a ground ball of his own. Haley then looked to shoot but instead passed inside to Cohen in front of the crease where Cohen scored with a backhanded shot to end the game.
Haley led the team with five points on three goals and two assists, while Allen and Elliott both finished the day with three points on two goals and one helper. Cardillo and senior Hillis Burns rounded out the multi-point Generals with two each. Spano went 15-for-26 on face-offs, picked up 14 ground balls and also scored a goal for the W&L offense.
W&L Women’s Laxers Claim ODAC Crown
The ninth-ranked W&L women's lacrosse team captured its 25th ODAC crown and 15th consecutive crown with a 14-6 win over second-seeded Shenandoah University on Sunday afternoon at Watt Field. The victory came in front of a packed Alumni Weekend crowd as the top-seeded Generals (16-4) capped another dominant conference campaign.
With the win, the Generals earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament and will travel to face Transylvania in Sewanee, Tenn. In the first round on Saturday, Tenn.
Sunday marked the 29th ODAC title game appearance for W&L and the first time the Generals and Hornets had met for the championship since 2013. Shenandoah (13-7) was appearing in just its second-ever title game and first since falling to W&L in that 2013 matchup.
Shenandoah opened the scoring less than three minutes into the contest, but Washington and Lee responded with four unanswered goals, including a free-position finish from Grace Kim to take a 4-1 lead after the first quarter.
The Hornets battled back with back-to-back goals late in the second to cut the W&L lead to 6-4 at halftime. However, the Generals locked in defensively and dominated the second half, outscoring Shenandoah 8-2 over the final 30 minutes.
W&L used a 4-1 third-quarter surge, sparked by Lara Baki’s third goal, to push the lead to 10-5. The Generals then sealed the title with another 4-1 burst in the fourth, including a player-up goal from Sophie Edwards and Claire Horner with Horner's final strike finding the back of the net with 40 seconds remaining.
Baki led all scorers with five goals, including two in the pivotal third quarter and a free-position score in the first. Horner, Emma Marsh and Hannah Van Son each scored two goals for W&L.
W&L Women’s Tennis Team Wins ODAC
For the 22nd straight season and 34th time in its history, the No. 39 W&L women’s tennis team hoisted the ODAC championship trophy following a 4-0 win against Averett (16-5) on Sunday at W&L
The Generals (17-5) have a first-round bye and will face the winner of Friday’s Swarthmore/Penn State-Harrisburg match in the second round on Saturday at W&L.
The No. 23 W&L men’s tennis team (16-7) lost to No. 37 Averett (16-4) by a final score of 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at W&L. The Generals were waiting to see if they would earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. For updates, visit www.generalssports.com.
