LEXINGTON, Va. – The top-seeded Washington and Lee women's lacrosse team rode a six-goal run in the first half to a 17-8 victory over fourth-seeded Roanoke in the semifinals of the ODAC Tournament on Friday afternoon at Watt Field.

The win advances W&L to the ODAC Championship game for the 16th consecutive season as the Generals attempt to win their seventh straight league title.  W&L will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal between second-seeded Randolph-Macon and third-seeded Lynchburg in the finals.

After Roanoke (9-9) grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by senior attacker Claire Feeney (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) just 18 seconds into the game, the Generals (12-5) responded with four straight tallies, two each from junior midfielder Olivia Sisson (Great Falls, Va. / Langley) and senior attacker Melissa Coggins (St. John's, Fla. / Bartram Trail), for a 4-1 advantage at the 20:47 mark of the first half.

The Maroons scored twice in a span of 30 seconds to make it a 4-3 game with 19:55 left in the first period, but W&L sophomore attacker Jess Castelo (Red Bank, N.J. / Lawrenceville School) got the six-goal rally started at the 18:28 mark when she found the net off a feed from first-year midfielder Haley Tucker (Manakin-Sabot, Va. / St. Catherine's School).

Castelo's goal was the last for nearly 10 minutes of game action until a three-goal flurry in a span of 45 seconds made it 8-3 with 8:14 remaining.  First junior midfielder Maggie Waxter (Baltimore, Md. / Roland Park Country School) scored on a free position shot and then Tucker scored unassisted 22 seconds later.  First-year attacker Maddy Graves (Cos Cob, Conn. / Greenwich) added a free position goal at 8:14.  Sisson and Castelo both contributed scores too, as the Generals' lead swelled to 10-3 with 5:08 left en route to an 11-4 lead at the break.

Roanoke scored three of the first four goals of the second half, including a pair of up goals from senior midfielder Meredith Bigelow (Annapolis, Md./Home Schooled), to cut it to a 12-7 game with 22:49 remaining.  However, the Blue & White used a four-goal run over a span of 8:41 to push the lead back to nine goals (16-7) with just 6:01 remaining in posting the win.

The Generals held a 31-25 advantage on shots and a 19-18 edge on ground balls.

Coggins and Tucker tallied three goals and one assist each to pace the W&L scoring.  Sisson and Castelo totaled three goals each, while junior attacker Sara Holland (Houston, Texas / M.B. Lamar) added a pair of scores.  Sisson and Tucker each contributed a team-high three ground balls and senior defender Caroline Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md. / St. Mary's) collected a team-best four draw controls.  First-year Ellie Aburn (Towson, Md. / Notre Dame Prep) played all 60 minutes in goal and posted eight saves.

Feeney finished with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists to lead Roanoke.  Bigelow added two goals and one assist.  First-year Victoria Smith (Greensboro, Md./North Caroline) started in goal for the Maroons, making four saves with 11 goals-allowed in 30 minutes.  First-year Emma Blair (Salem, Va./Salem) played the final half and notched five stops.

The ODAC Championship game will be played on Saturday at 4:00 pm at W&L's Watt Field.  The conference champion will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.

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