Washington and Lee Gets Automatic Bid into NCAA Tournament
LEXINGTON, Va. --- Senior midfielder Emmy
Mathews (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) scored a career-high eight goals
to help lead the Washington and Lee women's lacrosse team to its
12th ODAC Title with a 21-13 victory over Roanoke College on Sunday
afternoon at Watt Field.
Roanoke (12-8) controlled the opening five minutes of the contest,
assuming a 2-0 lead after a free position goal by senior attacker
Carolyn Miller (Clinton, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) at the 27:56 marker
and an unassisted tally from senior midfielder Meegan Rourke
(Greenwich, Conn./Milbrook) with 25:41 on the clock.
W&L (14-4) responded, netting five unanswered goals over a
4:22 span to assume a 5-2 advantage with 17:41 remaining in the
first half. Junior attacker Alli Shearin (Essex Fells, N.J./West
Essex Regional) started the scoring after she forced a Roanoke
turnover and found the net, leaving the score at 2-1 with 22:03 on
the clock. Senior midfielder Kate Donnelly (Houston, Texas/St.
John's School) and Shearin recorded consecutive goals at the 20:11
and 19:14 marks, respectively, to give W&L its first lead of
the game, a lead it did not surrender the remainder of the contest.
The Generals' 5-0 run ended with free position goals by Mathews and
junior attacker Maddie McKaig (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis), bringing
the score to 5-2.
Both teams exchanged goals over the final minutes of the first
half, as Roanoke received two goals from Rourke and a goal apiece
from Miller, and first-year attackers Emily Knade (Easton, Md./St.
Peter and Paul) and Allison Bonanno (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood),
while W&L netted three goals from Mathews, two goals from
Shearin and one goal from Donnelly as it took an 11-7 advantage
into the break.
The Generals opened scoring in the second half, with Mathews
recording her fifth goal of the contest 1:30 into the stanza for a
five-goal (12-7) W&L lead. Roanoke continued to stay in the
game, receiving consecutive goals from senior midfielder Gina
Valles (South Windsor, Conn./Westminster) and Rourke to pull to
within three goals (12-9) with 27:07 remaining.
However, W&L netted two consecutive goals from Mathews and
McKaig to extend the lead back to five goals, 14-9, with 20:48 on
the clock. Valles scored the next goal of the contest at the 20:02
mark, but W&L went on to score six unanswered goals to assume
its largest lead of the game, 20-10, with 7:53 remaining. During
the run, Mathews, Shearin and first-year midfielder Meade Brewster
(Brookside, N.J./West Morris Mendham) each chipped in a goal, while
senior attacker Wilton Megargel (Charlottesville, Va./St.
Anne's-Belfield) added three goals.
Roanoke tallied three late goals but it was not enough as the
Generals claimed the 21-13 final margin, the highest-scoring
contest in an ODAC Championship matchup. The win also gave W&L
its 12th title in program history, and seventh win over Roanoke in
a conference championship game.
Mathews' eight goals in the contest were a career-best, and
Shearin tied a career-high with five goals while also adding two
assists. Megargel finished with four points (3g, 1a) and McKaig
contributed two goals and one assist.
First-year Alex Van Horn (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) won a
game-high 18 draw controls, while junior midfielder Christina
Benedetti(Derwood, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) collected a
team-high three ground balls and senior defender Kathy Brown
(Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) forced a team-high three
turnovers.
In net, senior Katharine Farrar (Lexington, Va./Episcopal) played
the entirety, recording five saves.
The Maroons were led by Valles, who finished with six points (3g,
3a). Rourke scored a team-high five goals and Miller chipped in
three goals and an assist.
Three Roanoke keepers saw time, with senior Lyndsey Jones (Easton,
Md./St. Peter and Paul) taking the loss after allowing 15 goals and
recording six saves in 39:06. Junior Cristina Scichilone (South
Yarmouth, Mass./Nauset Regional) played 13:04, allowing three goals
and stopping two shots, while sophomore Laura Zdizarski
(Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz) played 7:50, allowing three goals.
For their efforts, Brown, Mathews, Shearin and Van Horn were all
named to the ODAC All-Tournament team, where they were joined by
RC's Miller, Rourke and Valles. Also named to the squad were
Lynchburg's Morgan Logue and Christina Tran and Virginia Wesleyan's
Kate Collier and Mari Carmichael.
With the win, the Generals claimed the ODAC's automatic bid to the
NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament. Date, time and
opponent for their first round game will be announced this evening
during the selection show on NCAA.com.
Agate
W&L Goals: Emmy Mathews 8; Alli Shearin 5; Wilton Megargel 3;
Maddie McKaig 2; Kate Donnelly 2; Meade Brewster 1.
W&L Assists: Alli Shearin 2; Margaret Klein 1; Maddie McKaig 1;
Wilton Megargel 1.
Roanoke Goals: Meegan Rourke 5; Gina Valles 3; Carolyn Miller 3;
Allison Bonanno 1; Emily Knade 1.
Roanoke Assists: Gina Valles 3; Allison Bonanno 2; Carolyn Miller
1.
This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee
University sports information department.