LEXINGTON, Va. --- The No. 4-ranked University of Lynchburg's men's lacrosse team won the program's eighth Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship on the road Saturday with a 16-6 decision over top-seeded Washington and Lee.
Second-seeded Lynchburg leapt out to a 9-1 halftime lead and scored seven more times in the second half to seal the deal.
Graduate student Colin Dean got the scoring started for the Hornets after an early penalty on W&L, taking a Kyle Lewis feed and scoring just 38 seconds into the contest. Just over a minute later, Riley Mitchell put the Hornets ahead by two with an unassisted score.
The Generals cut the lead to one at the 12:17 mark, but Lynchburg unleashed a 3-0 run -- two of the goals coming from Ryan Kenney -- to lead 5-1 after 15 minutes of play.
Lynchburg asserted control of the game in the second quarter with four unanswered goals. Kenney polished off his hat trick at the 12:55 mark in the quarter thanks to a Trammel Robinson assist. Kyle Lewis scored twice in the period and assisted another, Mitchell's second goal of the game. The Hornet defense was spectacular in the corner, allowing just one shot on goal (which went as one of Patrick Moore's seven saves) in the 15-minute span.
W&L took advantage of a two-man-up situation to start the third quarter, scoring twice in the first minute of the third quarter, but the Hornets quickly seized back momentum. Robinson netted a goal at the 12:42 mark, the start of a 7-0 Lynchburg run that put the game out of reach. Robinson scored again with 5:17 left in the fourth on the back end of the run.
Kenney finished with a game-high four goals to go with one assist, while Lewis notched three goals and three assists for Lynchburg. Mitchell and Robinson each finished with two goals and a helper apiece.
Moore led the Lynchburg defense with seven saves and just three goals allowed before being substituted late. Jack Albright led the Lynchburg defense with two caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls.
Dean, Tyler Gallagher, Quintin Ricci, and Robinson represented the Hornets on the all-tournament team.
The tournament victory was the eighth in Lynchburg's storied program history and the Hornets' seventh-consecutive ODAC championship game appearance. The Hornets have won four of those, including two of the last three on W&L's Wilson Field.
Lynchburg (16-2) carries the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament. It will be Lynchburg's 14th time in national championship contention. The field will be announced at 9 p.m. EDT Sunday.
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ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Alesandro Gargano, Bridgewater
- Grayson Rech, Bridgewater
- Bobby Claggett, Hampden-Sydney
- Jake O'Brien, Hampden-Sydney
- Harris Hubbard, Washington and Lee
- Stuart Greenspon, Washington and Lee
- Jack Taylor, Washington and Lee
- Colin Dean, Lynchburg
- Tyler Gallagher, Lynchburg
- Quintin Ricci, Lynchburg
- Pierce Robinson, Lynchburg
--- This release is courtesy of the University of Lynchburg sports information department. ---
www.lynchburgsports.com