FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Washington and Lee women's lacrosse team used a 4-goal run to start the second half in posting a 5-4 victory over 16th-ranked Mary Washington in the Generals' season-opener on Saturday at the Battleground Complex.

Sophomore forward Haley Tucker (Manakin-Sabot, Va. / St. Catherine's) gave the Generals (1-0) a 1-0 lead just 53 seconds into the game after she won the opening draw and moments later beat UMW sophomore goalkeeper Hanna Ashby.

The Eagles (1-1) struck just 35 seconds later as senior midfielder Sabrina Elliott slipped a shot past W&L junior goalie Hannah Wiltshire (Wilton, Conn. / Wilton) after receiving a feed from sophomore attacker Mackenzie Maguire.

Despite controlling much of the first half action, W&L simply couldn't beat Ashby, who recorded six saves in the opening 30 minutes.  On the other end, the Eagles totaled two more goals to assume a 3-1 lead at the half.  Junior attacker Holly Hudson notched an unassisted goal at 19:28 and senior attacker Kate Smucker scored off an assist from senior midfielder Emily Mott with 11:39 left.

Just as they did in the opening half, the Generals didn't waste time finding their first goal of the second.  Senior midfielder Hayley Soutter (McLean, Va. / Langley) won the opening draw and senior midfielder Maggie Waxter (Baltimore, Md. / Roland Park) scored unassisted just 27 seconds into the stanza to make it a 3-2 contest.  Tucker scored her second goal of the game at 25:45 off an assist from junior attacker Jess Castelo (Red Bank, N.J. / Lawrenceville) to knot the game at 3-3. 

Sophomore midfielder Cordelia Peters (Larkspur, Calif. / Hotchkiss) continued the run with a goal off a Soutter assist at the 20:18 mark and Tucker finished off the 4-goal surge 36 seconds later when she caused a turnover, picked up the ground ball and beat Ashby for a 5-3 lead with 19:42 left to play.

Mary Washington cut it to a 5-4 game with 17:15 remaining when Elliott found senior attacker Kelsey Vincent for a goal, but the Generals' defense would clamp down to preserve the lead.  The Eagles hit the post with a shot at the 15:30 mark, but W&L held UMW without a shot from that point forward, forcing six turnovers in the final 17:05 of the game.

The Generals held a 14-9 advantage on shots and claimed a 23-16 edge on ground balls.  Tucker led the way with three goals, five ground balls and three caused turnovers.  Castelo added one assist, three ground balls and one caused turnover.  In goal, Wiltshire notched two saves while playing the opening 30 minutes, while first-year Elliot Gilbert (Bedford, N.Y. / Deerfield Academy) played the second half, making two saves with one goal allowed.

Elliott had one goal and one assist to pace the Eagles on the offensive end.  Ashby played the duration in goal and logged seven saves.

Washington and Lee returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Christopher Newport for a 3:00 pm contest.

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