LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Junior Austin Stewart broke the Lynchburg College single-season points record in the first quarter as the No. 4-ranked Hornets defeated Roanoke College 17-12 on Sunday afternoon to claim the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men's lacrosse title.
It is the first time in school history that the lacrosse team has won back-to-back conference titles.
Todd Galvin started the scoring for the Hornets just over three minutes in off a Daniel Owens assist. Roanoke evened the contest at 8:51, but Stewart put LC in front again 90 seconds later while breaking the record in the process.
Stewart entered Sunday's action with 89 points, tied for the school record set by teammate Aaron Murphy in 2014. He went on to score seven more times, finishing with a career-high eight goals while adding an assist to end the contest with 98 points.
Lynchburg pulled away to a modest 9-5 halftime lead behind a 14-for-16 first-half effort in the faceoff circle. The Hornets won the first 12 chances of the championship game.
The Maroons attempted a comeback in the second half, scoring seven goals in the final 30 minutes and holding a 4-3 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter. Tyler McWilliams was the lone Maroon with multiple goals in the second half, finishing with three tallies.
The duo of Stewart and Murphy did everything possible to bring a second-straight title to Lynchburg, scoring three goals each in the second half. Murphy added two ground balls while Stewart finished with three.
Chris Hower controlled the midfield for Lynchburg, scooping seven ground balls, the majority of which came off face-off opportunities. Bobby Distler went the distance in the face-off circle, winning 26-of-33 while corralling a team-high 14 ground balls.
Stewart now has 88 goals on the season, fifth-most in Division III history, with the NCAA tournament still to play.
Roanoke (12-6) awaits a possible at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. Dylan Torrey made 17 saves for the Maroons.
Lynchburg (17-2) will find out who it will play in the NCAA tournament tonight at 9 p.m. as the Division III Selection Show airs. First round play will begin Wednesday, May 6. The link to the show can be found here:
Selection Show (9 p.m.)
ODAC All-Tournament Team
Washington & Lee
Colin Fraser
Buck Armstrong
Virginia Wesleyan
Rory Finnegan
Stephen Soltesz
Roanoke
Dylan Torrey
Colin Mackenzie
Wes Pancoast
Lynchburg
Austin Stewart
Chris Hawley
Bobby Distler
Hunter Thompson
--- This release is courtesy of the Lynchburg College sports information department. ---
athletics.lynchburg.edu