LEXINGTON, Va. — Junior forward Lauren Paolano (Huntington, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) recorded her second straight hat trick to lead the W&L field hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Ferrum on Wednesday evening at the W&L Turf Field.

The Generals (7-8, 5-2 ODAC) held a 2-1 edge at halftime, but then a goal by first-year forward Grace Weise (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Agnes Irwin School) off the first collegiate assist from sophomore midfielder Abigail Hancock (Darien, Conn./Darien) pushed the W&L lead to 3-1 with 21:09 left in the second half. On the play, Hancock passed the ball from the top of the circle to the right side, and Weise sent the ball back across the cage for her fifth tally of the year.

Just under four minutes later, Paolano notched her second goal of the game, when senior forward Haley Tucker (Manakin-Sabot, Va./St. Catherine's School) found her on the left post to extend the advantage to 4-1. With 14:18 left in the contest, first-year defender Katherine Berman (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) dribbled the ball up the right side of the field. She took one touch inside the circle and blasted the ball inside the right post for her first collegiate goal.

Paolano then registered her hat trick with 5:47 left in the contest off an assist from first-year midfielder Stella Noels (Cambridge, Mass./Middlesex School) to reach the final margin, 6-1. It marked Paolano's fifth hat trick of her career. She is just the second player in program history to total at least three goals in back-to-back games, and the seven goals in two straight contests are the most by any player in program history.

With the three tallies, Paolano moved her season total to 14 and her career mark to 42. She is now tied for fourth on the W&L all-time goals list with Jane Beall '06.

The Blue and White held a 48-2 advantage in shots over the Panthers (3-12, 0-7 ODAC), and took 13 corners compared to just three for Ferrum. Sophomore goalkeeper Mia Holmes made 26 saves to keep the Panthers in the contest in 66:02 of action.

Senior goalkeeper Ariyel Yavalar (Baltimore, Md./Garrison Forest School) played 46:05 of the game and did not face a shot. First-year keeper Sara Amil (North Caldwell, N.J./West Essex) played 23:55, allowing the lone Ferrum tally.

Paolano's first goal of the game was the team's first in the seventh minute. Tucker pushed the score to 2-0 with 25:54 left in the first half, and first-year midfielder Emily Campbell put Ferrum on the board in the 28th minute.

W&L plays its final game of the regular season on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Lynchburg.

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