LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore attackman Michael Ott (Savannah, Ga. / St. John's Prep) tallied a career-best five points to help lead the Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team to a 14-8 victory over Hampden-Sydney in the ODAC-opener for both teams on Saturday at Wilson Field.
 
The Generals (3-3, 1-0) got off to a fast start for the second straight contest, jumping out to a 6-1 lead by the midway point of the first half.  Scoring was at a premium in the first quarter, with the two teams combining for just three goals. 
 
W&L opened a 2-0 lead on goals by senior midfielder Tommy MacCowatt (New Vernon, N.J. / Delbarton) and senior attackman Taylor Witherell (Wilmington, Del. / Salesianum) at 13:45 and 9:48 of the first quarter.  Hampden-Sydney (3-3, 0-1) got on the board with a man-up goal by sophomore attackman Ray O'Brien at the 8:26 mark of the opening period and neither team scored again until the second quarter.
 
The Blue & White started the second period with four straight goals to open the 6-1 advantage.  Sophomore attackman Alex Brown (Norwalk, Conn. / Taft School) scored unassisted at 11:18 and then Witherell scored his second goal off an assist from Ott just 32 seconds later for a 4-1 lead.  Ott notched an unassisted score at 8:33 and he then set up another score with an assist on a goal by junior midfielder Adam Lamberti (Bel Air, Md. / McDonogh) at 7:39 for the 6-1 advantage.  Each team scored once more and W&L carried a 7-2 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Tigers tried to gain momentum just 19 seconds into the third period when senior defenseman Grayson Ackaway found the cage after picking up the ground ball on the opening faceoff.  However, W&L seized control from there, scoring the game's next four goals to assume a commanding 11-3 lead with 10:30 left in the penultimate quarter.  Ott scored once more during the four-goal run and the Generals cruised from there.
 
Hampden-Sydney held a 39-35 edge in shots and a 31-28 advantage in ground balls.  W&L used a 20-5 advantage at the faceoff X to maintain control of the contest.  Junior Matt Gallagher (Lynchburg, Va. / E.C. Glass) did most of the work on the draws, winning 19-of-24 and assisting on one goal as well.
 
Ott finished with three goals and two assists, while MacCowatt, Lamberti and Witherell finished with three goals each.  Senior defenseman George Rovegno (Duxbury, Mass. / Duxbury) totaled three caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls to spearhead the Generals' defensive effort.  Senior Nick Spagnoletti (Madison, N.J. / Madison) continued his solid play in goal, registering 10 saves.
 
Hampden-Sydney was paced by senior attackman Bobby Clagget's two goals and one assist.  Senior midfielder Sean Duffy and sophomore attackman Ray O'Brien chipped in two goals each, while senior goalkeeper Will Perry tallied five saves.
 
Washington and Lee returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to 10th-ranked Gettysburg for a 3:30 pm contest.