NORFOLK, Va. – Washington and Lee jumped out to a 6-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back in posting a 24-6 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in ODAC men's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon at Birdsong Field.
 
Senior midfielder Ben Mulholland (Sewickley, Pa. / Sewickley Academy) set the tone just 48 seconds into the game when he fired a rocket past VWU (0-4, 0-2) graduate goalkeeper Kyle Leeming for a 1-0 lead.  The Generals (8-4, 7-1) scored three more times in the opening five minutes of the contest, with senior attackman Stuart Greenspon (Aldie, Va. / Episcopal) scoring twice in the opening six-goal run.
 
Virginia Wesleyan got on the board with an unassisted goal by senior midfielder Nathan Sheirburn with 3:06 left in the first quarter.  However, the Generals strung together seven unanswered goals in the second quarter for a 13-1 lead at the break.  Senior attackman Taylor Witherell (Wilmington, Del. / Salesianum) did the lion's share of the damage in the second period, totaling four goals and one assist in the frame.  Among them was a goal at the 11:09 mark which marked his 100th career point.
 
The Marlins opened the second half by scoring three of the first four goals to pull within 14-4 at the 6:36 mark.  Senior midfielder Cole Maguire notched all three tallies, but the momentum was short-lived as Greenspon personally scored four of the game's next five goals for an 18-5 lead with 10:50 left in the game.
 
The Generals worked a bevy of subs into the contest during the third and fourth quarters and continued to expand the lead.  First-year attackmen Sam Mannino (Fair Haven, N.J. / Rumson Fair Haven) and Alex Brown (Norwalk, Conn. / Taft School) both scored twice in the final period, while first-year midfielder Peter Sheehan III (Towson, Md. / St. Paul's) racked up a pair of assists.
 
For the game, W&L held a 53-38 advantage in shots and a 42-32 edge in ground balls.  W&L also won 18-of-33 faceoffs.
 
Greenspon led the way with a career-high six goals.  Witherell finished with four goals and one assist and he now has 102 points on 77 goals and 25 assists.  Junior midfielder Braden Rhone (Dallas, Texas / Episcopal) registered two goals and one assist, while senior attackman Austin Hudson (Baltimore, Md. / Gilman), Mannino and Brown all scored two goals each. 
 
Four different goalkeepers all played for W&L.  Senior Jack Taylor (Baltimore, Md. / Saint Paul's) played the first 30 minutes to earn the win.  He posted nine saves with just one goal against.
 
Maguire led the Marlins with three goals.  Leeming played the first 50:37 in goal and produced 15 saves with 18 goals allowed.
 
Washington and Lee returns to play on Wednesday, when it travels to Guilford College for a 4:00 pm contest.