CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- The Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Division III Semifinals with an 11-8 victory at Washington College in quarterfinal action on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Generals advance to face Gettysburg in the national semifinals next weekend. The Bullets advanced with a 7-5 victory over Salisbury on Sunday afternoon.
WAC (13-4) assumed the early 1-0 lead at the 13:22 mark as sophomore midfielder Steve Berger (Jessup, Md./Mount St. Joseph) scored unassisted. The Generals responded to tie the game at 1-1 as junior defender Matt Strickler (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) netted a score just 23 seconds later. After the teams exchanged goals to knot the game at 2-2 with 11:35 left in the first quarter, Shoreman senior attackman Craig Rentch (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) scored to provide WAC with its final lead of the game (3-2) with 10:49 left in the first period. After Rentch's tally, W&L rattled off four unanswered goals to claim a 6-3 lead with 6:24 left in the first. Senior midfielder John Moore (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) notched two goals while sophomore attackman Matt Fink (Wilmington, Del./Tatnall) registered three assists during the run. Each team added one more score as the first period ended with the Generals leading, 7-4.
After a scoreless second period, the Generals (14-3) extended their lead to 8-4 at the 14:25 mark of the third quarter on a goal by Fink. However, WAC responded with a three straight goals to cut its deficit to 8-7 with 5:19 left in the third. W&L sophomore midfielder Dustin Martin (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) then gave the Generals another two-goal lead (9-7) as he tallied a goal off an assist from senior attackman Andrew Barnett (Darien, Conn./Darien) with 3:45 remaining in the third. Fink then added two fourth quarter scores for the Generals and WAC tallied a goal with eight seconds remaining to round out the scoring.
Fink finished with three goals and three assists, while Moore and Martin added two goals apiece. Barnett and Molinelli both finished with one goal and two assists. Sophomore Ansel Sanders (Weems, Va.Woodberry Forest) notched six saves in goal.
Washington was led by Rentch who recorded three goals. Berger chipped in with one goal and two assists, while freshman Alex Pirani (Woburn, Va./Winchester) saved seven shots between the pipes.
-- GENERALS --
| TEAM |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
FINAL |
| Washington and Lee (14-3) |
7 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
| Washington (13-4) |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
SCORING
W&L GOALS: Matt Fink (3), John Moore (2), Dustin Martin (2), Matt Strickler, Gavin Molinelli, Andrew Barnett, Rich Williams
W&L ASSISTS: Matt Fink (3), Gavin Molinelli (2), Andrew Barnett (2)
WAC GOALS: Craig Rentch (3), Steven Berger, Jon Fellows, Randy Vane, Chris Edwards, Andres Strothman
WAC ASSISTS: Stephen Berger (2), Michael Dyal
GOALKEEPERS
Ansel Sanders (W&L), 60:00, 8 GA, 6 saves
Alex Pirani (WAC), 60:00, 11 GA, 7 saves
TEAM STATS
Shots, W&L 39, WAC, 27
Ground Balls, W&L 44, WAC, 32
Clears, W&L, 10-of-18, WAC, 9-of-16
Penalty Minutes, W&L, 2 for 1:00, WAC, 1 for 0:30
Extra Man, W&L, 0-for-1, WAC, 1-for-2
Faceoffs, W&L, 13, WAC, 9
