SALISBURY, Md. -- The 13th-ranked Washington and Lee women's lacrosse team jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed in defeating fourth-ranked Amherst College, 11-9, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Salisbury University.
The win was W&L's first-ever in the NCAA Tournament and gave the Generals a 15-3 overall record, tying the school record for victories in a season.
Sophomore attacker Kelly Evans (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) opened the scoring just 2:17 into the game as she found the net off an assist from senior midfielder Kitt Murphy (New York, N.Y./St. Catherines). The Generals upped the score to 2-0 on an unassisted goal by junior defender Louisa Feve (Bethesda, Md./Winston Churchill) at the 21:42 mark and junior defender Rachel Wallick (Phoenix, Md./Notre Dame Prep) extended the lead to 3-0 with an unassisted tally at the 18:17 mark. Sophomore midfielder Mallory Lobisser (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Lakeside) capped the opening run with a goal at the 17:51 mark off an assist from junior attacker Amanda Strickler (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County).
The Lord Jeffs (12-4) responded with two straight goals to cut the W&L lead to 4-2 with 10:05 remaining in the opening half, but senior defender Maggie Speasmaker (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield) scored off an assist from senior midfielder Natalya Hoobchaak (Barrington, Ill./Loyola Academy) with 4:07 remaining to give the Generals a three-goal lead. Amherst then closed the half on a two-goal run and the Generals headed to the break with a 5-4 lead.
Just 1:26 into the second half, Strickler gave the Generals a 6-4 lead on a goal assisted by Feve, but senior attacker Ashley Harmeling and junior attacker Scotty Hanley both scored for Amherst to knot the game at 6-6 with 27:40 remaining.
The Generals responded with a two-goal run for an 8-6 lead with 23:42 left, but Harmeling found the net again to cut the margin to 8-7 with 21:26 remaining.
W&L again extended to a two-goal lead (9-7) on an unassisted goal by senior midfielder Kristen Brown (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville), but again Amherst clawed back to tie the game at 9-9 with 10:13 remaining on a Harmeling tally.
The Generals regained the lead at the 7:56 mark as Lobisser scored unassisted, and would put the game away on a Strickler goal assisted by Evans with 3:20 left in the game.
Lobisser led W&L with three goals, while Strickler tallied two goals and one assist. Freshman Sarah Tilbor (West Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) was sensational in goal, stopping 14 shots.
Amherst was led by Harmeling's four goals. Hanley and freshman attacker Maddie Hoeg each notched two goals, while senior Liz D'Ambrosio tallied eight saves in goal.
The Generals now advance to face host Salisbury (15-0) in the regional final on Sunday at 1:00 pm.
SCORING:
W&L GOALS - Mallory Lobisser 3, Amanda Strickler 2, Rachel Wallick 2, Kristen Brown 1, Kelly Evans 1, Maggie Speasmaker 1, Louisa Feve 1.
W&L ASSISTS - Kelly Evans 1, Louisa Feve 1, Natalya Hoobchaak 1, Kitt Murphy 1, Megan Slosson 1, Amanda Strickler 1.
AC GOALS - Ashley Harmeling 4, Maddie Hoeg 2, Scotty Hanley 2, Alyssa Briody 1.
AC ASSISTS - Dana Kuper 1, Gretchen DeLuke.
GOALTENDING:
Sarah Tilbor (W&L) 60:00 9 GA, 14 Saves
Liv D'Ambrosio (AC) 60:00 11 GA, 8 Saves
-- GENERALS --
