LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The No. 14 Washington and Lee women's lacrosse team climbed to the top of the ODAC standings after earning a 7-6 victory over Lynchburg College on Sunday evening at Shellenberger Field.

Washington and Lee (9-4, 6-0) struck first when senior midfielder Kate Donnelly (Houston, Texas/St. John's) found the net off a feed from senior attacker Wilton Megargel (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield) to put the Generals up, 1-0, with 28:06 on the clock.

Junior attacker Leslie Buckingham put Lynchburg (10-4, 6-1) on the board off a free-position shot to knot the game at 1-1 with 21:42 remaining in the opening stanza, and sophomore attacker Kendall Adkin added a free-position goal of her own just 30 seconds later to give LC a 2-1 advantage.

After a span of 13:42 without a goal from either team, first-year attacker Margaret Klein (North Andover, Mass./Brooks) scored off a feed from senior attacker Kate Speare (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven), bringing the score to an even 2-2 at the 8:00 mark. LC's Buckingham tallied her second goal of the opening half to put the Hornets up 3-2 with 4:51 on the clock. However, W&L closed the first half with goals from Donnelly and junior attacker Alli Shearin (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) at the 3:53 and 3:00 marks, respectively, to take a 4-3 advantage into the break.

Lynchburg opened the second half with a free-position goal from sophomore midfielder Julie Will with 27:45 on the clock once again leave the score tied, 4-4.

Both teams exchanged goals to knot the scoring at 5-5 with 21:42 remaining, but senior midfielder Emmy Mathews (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) netted consecutive goals at the 17:50 and 15:01 marks to push the W&L lead to two goals, 7-5.

The Hornets pulled to within one goal (7-6) off an unassisted goal from Adkin with 5:09 remaining. W&L junior midfielder Christina Benedetti (Derwood, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) claimed the ensuing draw control to give W&L possession, but a turnover by Klein gave Lynchburg the ball and a chance to tie the game in the final minutes.

LC first-year midfielder Bri Slate was fouled and awarded a free position shot with 3:20 on the clock. Slate's attempt hit the post and Donnelly grabbed the ground ball for W&L, which maintained possession the rest of the way and held on for the 7-6 victory to remain unbeaten in ODAC play this season.

Mathews paced the Generals with three goals, while Donnelly chipped in two goals and Klein and Shearin finished with a goal apiece. Senior defender Kathy Brown (Baltimore, Md./Cantonsville) collected a team-high five ground balls and Benedetti won a game-high three draw controls. Senior keeper Katharine Farrar (Lexington, Va./Episcopal) played the entirety, stopping seven shots.

Lynchburg was led by Buckingham's three goals. Adkin added two goals and Will finished with one goal. Junior keeper Christina Tran grabbed a game-high nine ground balls, while Buckingham and senior midfielder Morgan Logue each won two draw controls. Tran played all 60:00 in net, stopping 14 shots.

The Generals return to action on Wednesday as they travel to Guilford College for a 3:00 pm contest.

AGATE

W&L Goals: Emmy Mathews 3; Kate Donnelly 2; Margaret Klein 1; Alli Shearin 1.
W&L Assists: Wilton Megargel 2; Margaret Klein 1; Kate Speare 1.

LC Goals: Lesley Buckingham 3; Kendall Adkin 2; Julie Will 1.
LC Assists: None.

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