Five-Goal Run in First Half Propels W&L to Victory

LEXINGTON, Va. --- The 15th-ranked Washington and Lee women's lacrosse team used a five-goal run early in the first half to hold off Guilford, 18-10, in the ODAC Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday afternoon at Watt Field.

W&L opened the contest's scoring with a free position shot by sophomore attacker Margaret Klein (North Andover, Mass./Brooks) at 27:50 (1-0). Just eleven seconds later, Klein fired off another goal off an assist by sophomore midfielder Meade Brewster (Brookside, N.J./West Morris Mendham), and at the 27:18 mark senior attacker Alli Shearin's (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) unassisted goal brought the score to 3-0. Senior midfielder Maddie McKaig(Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) and sophomore midfielder Alex Van Horn (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) wrapped up the run for the Generals with a goal apiece in the next 2:10 (5-0).

GC sophomore attacker E'leyna Garcia put the Quakers on the board to pull to within four goals with 24:17 left in the first period (5-1), but W&L was able to score six more times in the half, while allowing just two tallies for GC, giving the Generals an 11-3 advantage at halftime.

The Quakers attempted to make a comeback in the second stanza, as senior midfielder Sarah Bradburd (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Friends' Central) scored less than a minute into the half (11-4). W&L and GC traded goals for the next 4:05, but GC senior midfielder Summer Frazier (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) made it a six-goal game with an unassisted goal at 22:01 (13-7). The Generals answered the comeback efforts of the Quakers from then on and coasted to the 18-10 victory.

First-year Cara Mulligan (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) and senior Jennifer Linder (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) split time in net for W&L. Mulligan stopped seven shots with nine goals-against in 57:31 and Linder registered one goal-against in 2:29. Junior Liza Mettler (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Beaumont School) spent the entire game in the cage for GC, recording 10 saves and 18 goals-against.

For the Blue and White, McKaig led the pack with six points on three goals and three assists. Shearin netted five goals and sophomore attacker Greta Witter (Douglasville, Pa./The Hill School) notched three goals and one helper. Brewster tallied four draw controls, and senior midfielder Christina Benedetti (Derwood, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) and Van Horn each claimed three draw controls.

Gacia paced the Quakers, recording six points on three goals and three assists. Frazier netted four goals and first-year midfielder Eleanora Keene (Wittman, Md./Gunston Day School) scored two goals. Keene and sophomore midfielder Becca Colley (Wells, Maine/Wells) were strong in the draw circle, picking up six and five draw controls, respectively.

With the win, the Generals will now advance to ODAC Tournament Championship game, where they will host either Lynchburg or Roanoke on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

--- This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee University sports information department. ---
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