LYNCHBURG, Va. --- It's hard to vote against the University of Lynchburg when a men's soccer title is on the line.

Lynchburg earned its 17th overall ODAC men's soccer trophy on Sunday afternoon in the Hill City as the Hornets defeated Guilford College, 5-1, on Shellenberger Field. The title is the program's first since winning two straight in 2016 and 2017.

Since the ODAC instituted a tournament format for men's soccer in 1989, Lynchburg teams have qualified for the championship game 10 times. Sunday's triumph marked the Hornets seventh victory in those contests. That includes four wins in five opportunities since 2014. Lynchburg is one of two teams to boast double figure conference men's soccer trophies with its 17 awards out-pacing the 10 earned by Virginia Wesleyan University.

Luke Mega opened the game's scoring in the ninth minute. He received a pass from Carter Averette inside the left edge of the penalty box and sent a right-footed shot towards the Quakers goal. A deflection off a defender's head adjusted the path and into the far corner for a 1-0 Lynchburg lead.

Bhayle Kearns notched the second goal in the 14th minute. He tucked a one-touch left-footed shot off a dish from Manzi Shalita past the Guilford keeper into the far-left netting.

Brennan Lagana showed off his pace for Lynchburg's third tally in the 44th minute. The Hornets forward out-sprinted the Quakers right back and moved onto the ball from 30 yards away. Four touches later, he finished low to the right with a left-footed grounder past the on-coming Guilford keeper for a 3-0 lead just before the break.

Although it took a while, both teams added to their scoreboard tally in the second half. Ben Mackey made it 4-0 Lynchburg in the 79th minute. After Zach Van Kampen made a nice save on Joey Daly's left-footed blast, Mackey cleaned up the rebound with a one-time strike that rippled the center netting.

Guilford got one back in the 89th minute. Bruno Gonzalez picked up a loose ball near the penalty spot and put a right-footed shaped shot into the upper-right corner.

Lagana put the icing on Lychburg's victory with a stellar individual effort to complete his brace. Lagana beat the Guilford defense on the left wing and slotted a crisp left-footed effort past the keeper at the near stick with just 0:03 left on the game clock.

Guilford's Van Kampen made seven saves in front of the Quakers' net. Lynchburg's Kyle Gallagher was called into service just once in 90 minutes of action.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
PJ LeBel, Hampden-Sydney
Gray Sutter, Hampden-Sydney
Nate Carey, Roanoke
Chris Jerrild, Roanoke
Logan Haustein, Guilford College
Kenny Nzekwe, Guilford College
Zach Van Kampen, Guilford College
Carter Averette, University of Lynchburg
Nick Foley, University of Lynchburg
Ben Mackey, University of Lynchburg
Luke Mega, University of Lynchburg