LEXINGTON, Va. -- The 17th-ranked Hampden-Sydney men's lacrosse team jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back in claiming an 11-8 win over Washington and Lee in ODAC action on Saturday afternoon at the W&L Turf Field.
The Tigers broke open a 1-1 game with three straight goals, two of which were assisted by junior midfielder Michael Via (Virginia Beach, Va./Norfolk Academy), for a 4-1 lead with 11:24 left in the second quarter. The Generals (5-5, 2-3) got one back on a short-handed goal by freshman attackman Tim Skeen (Baltimore, Md./Towson) off a feed from junior midfielder Charlie Clarke (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) just 30 seconds later, but Hampden-Sydney pushed back to a three-goal lead (5-2) just 49 seconds after that on a goal by junior midfielder William Shell (Alexandria, Va./St. Stephen's) off a feed from senior attackman Vince Smith (Palmyra, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield). Skeen scored again off a feed from Clarke at the 7:41 mark of the second quarter, but H-SC senior attackman Eamon Thornton (Atlanta, Ga./McCallie School) scored on the doorstep with two seconds remaining in the half to give the Tigers a 6-3 lead at the break.
Hampden-Sydney (7-4, 3-2) pushed out to a 9-4 advantage with 7:42 left in the third period, but the Generals recovered with back-to-back goals by freshman midfielder Harry St. John (Essex Falls, N.J./West Essex) and sophomore attackman Ned Rider (Manakin-Sabot, Va./Collegiate) to slice it to a 9-6 game with 4:36 left in the third period. Thornton gave the Tigers a 10-6 lead heading into the fourth period when he scored off a feed from Shell with 35 seconds left in the third period, but the Generals again went on a two-goal run to make the score 10-8 with 8:50 left in the game. However, W&L could get no closer and the Tigers added the capper with 6:59 left in the contest.
Skeen led W&L with four goals, while sophomore attackman Will Englehart (Cockeysville, Md./Dulaney) scored two goals. Rider notched one goal and one assist, while Clarke had two assists. Junior Chris Lalli (Cranbury, N.J./Princeton) stopped four shots in goal.
Hampden-Sydney was paced by junior midfielder Thomas Jennings (Mufreesboro, Tenn./Webb School) and Thornton, who scored three goals each. Via had one goal and three assists, while Smith totaled two goals and one assist. Junior Scott Russell (Darien, Conn./Darien) posted 14 saves in goal.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Tuesday as it hosts VMI for the Lee-Jackson Lacrosse Classic. The game will be played at the W&L Turf Field at 7:30 pm.
-- GENERALS --
