LEXINGTON, Va. – Washington and Lee rode a dominant third quarter to an 11-8 victory over Roanoke in ODAC men's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Senior goalkeeper
Nick Spagnoletti (Madison, N.J. / Madison) kept the Maroons (5-4, 2-1) at bay in the first half, registering nine stops in the opening quarter and 14 for the first half, as the teams headed into the intermission tied 3-3.
W&L (5-5, 3-0) wasted little time creating some separation from Roanoke after the break, winning the opening faceoff and using an unassisted goal by senior midfielder
Teddy Bentley (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. / Cold Spring Harbor) just 15 seconds into the third quarter for a 4-3 lead. Bentley's goal opened a four-goal run for W&L over the first 3:34 of the second half, giving the Blue & White a 7-3 lead with 11:26 left in the third quarter.
First-year attackman
Hillis Burns (Louisville, Ky. / St. Xavier) scored unassisted with a dodge from behind the goal at 13:45 and junior midfielder
Henry Holliday (Washington, D.C. / St. Albans) followed with a goal of his own just 41 seconds later. Sophomore attackman
Alex Brown (Norwalk, Conn. / Taft School) capped the run at 11:26 when Burns fed him for his second score of the game.
Roanoke tallied the next two goals to pull within 7-5 at the 7:31 mark, but the Generals scored three of the game's next four goals, including two by senior midfielder
Tommy MacCowatt (New Vernon, N.J. / Delbarton), to carry a 10-6 lead into the final period. All told, W&L squeezed off 25 shots in the third period and only the play of Roanoke sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Lewis kept the Generals from running away with the game. Lewis stopped eight shots in the quarter and finished with 18 saves for the game.
Lewis' play allowed the Maroons to close back within two goals (10-8) after RC scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter, but Spagnoletti stopped six shots in the final 15 minutes and senior attackman
Spencer Kriss (Versailles, Ky. / Lexington Catholic) gave the Generals more breathing room with a man-up goal off a MacCowatt feed with 5:01 remaining. Roanoke could get no closer, as W&L defeated the Maroons for a fifth straight time.
The Blue & White held a 61-43 advantage in shots, 38-28 advantage in ground balls and a 15-8 edge in faceoffs.
MacCowatt led the offense with a career-high five points on a career-best four goals and one assist. Brown scored two goals, while Burns finished with one goal and two assists. Spagnoletti tied his career high with 21 saves and junior
Matt Gallagher (Lynchburg, Va. / E.C. Glass) claimed 11-of-18 faceoffs.
Sophomore attackman Wyatt Whitlow led the Maroons with four goals. Senior midfielder George Gilbert tallied two goals and one assist, while sophomore midfielder Luca Docking notched one goal and two assists. Lewis played the duration in goal, producing 18 saves.
Washington and Lee is back in action next Saturday when it travels to seventh-ranked Lynchburg for a 7:00 pm contest.