LEXINGTON, Va. --- Senior defenseman John Broderick (Manhasset, N.Y. / Chaminade) scored with just 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the 17th-ranked and top-seeded Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team to an 8-7 victory over second-seeded and 20th-ranked Lynchburg on Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Lynchburg (13-6) had the ball with a chance to hold for the last shot. Following timeouts by each team with 29 seconds remaining, the Hornets set up a final play. W&L (15-4) junior midfielder Evans Allison (Huntsville, Ala. / Randolph) matched up with Lynchburg junior midfielder Kevin Rogers and checked the ball away. Broderick picked up the contested ground ball on the run, just a few steps shy of midfield. He ran uncontested down the center of the field until unleashing a bounce shot that found the back of the net and gave the Generals their 11th all-time ODAC Championship and the second since 2016.
Both defenses controlled play throughout the game and the Hornets carried a 5-4 lead into the halftime break. Rogers scored off an assist from senior attackman Evan Lombardo at the 13:20 mark of the third quarter to give Lynchburg a 6-4 advantage, but W&L climbed back to within a single goal (6-5) on an unassisted tally by first-year attackman Garrett Mize (Dallas, Texas / St. Mark's) just 1:15 later.
W&L pulled even (6-6) with 6:42 left in the third period on a man-up goal by junior midfielder Jack Ware(Baltimore, Md. / Towson) off an assist from junior midfielder Hudson Hamill (Darien, Conn. / Darien).
The score remained unchanged for the next 17:48 of game action due, in large part, to stellar play from both defenses. The Generals killed a pair of extra-man situations in the fourth quarter, which kept the score even until Mize gave W&L its first lead since early in the second quarter with an unassisted goal at 3:54 of the fourth period.
The Hornets tied the score at 7-7 just 1:47 later on a transition goal by senior attackman Andrew Thomas off an assist from first-year midfielder Josiah Martin, setting up the exciting finish.
For the game, W&L held advantages of 42-26 in shots, 30-23 in ground balls and 15-3 in faceoffs.
Hamill led the offense with two goals and two assists, while Mize and sophomore midfielder Stuart Greenspon (Aldie, Va. / Episcopal) totaled two goals each. Broderick's goal was just the second of his career. Senior attackman A.J. Witherell (Wilmington, Del. / Salesianum) was held without a point for the first time since his rookie campaign (62 games).
Allison and senior defenseman Paul Callahan (San Rafael, Calif. / Marin Catholic) spearheaded the W&L defensive effort with three caused turnovers apiece. Sophomore goalkeeper Jack Taylor (Baltimore, Md. / Saint Paul's) played all 60 minutes and produced eight saves.
Junior midfielder Jack Hodgson (Richmond, Va. / St. Christopher's) controlled the faceoff X once again, winning 15-of-18 draws to break his own school single-season record of 261 faceoff wins. He has now won 263-of-359 (.733) faceoffs this season.
Junior attackman Trammel Robinson led Lynchburg with two goals. Thomas and Martin finished with one goal and one assist each. Senior Patrick Cornelius played the duration in goal and finished with 10 saves.
Washington and Lee receives the ODAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will learn of its draw when the selection show is aired on NCAA.com this evening at 9:00 pm.