LEXINGTON, Va. – The sixth-ranked Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team fell by a 16-11 final score against top-ranked Christopher Newport in the sixth annual Lacrosse the Nations Cup game on Wednesday night.
The Captains (9-0) opened the scoring just 53 seconds into the game, courtesy of a Drew Miller goal. Senior
Hudson Pokorny (Darien, Conn. / Darien) and sophomore
Hillis Burns (Louisville, Ky. / St. Xavier) teamed up for the Generals' (6-2) first goal just 45 seconds later, but the Captains scored the next four goals, including two from Alex Brendes, to take a 5-1 lead at the 2:55 mark.
After a
Joey Allen (Berwyn, Pa. / Conestoga) score and
Sam Mannino assist (Fair Haven, N.J. / Rumson Fair Haven) ended the first-quarter scoring, CNU tallied four of the next five goals in the game to push the lead to 9-3 with 7:35 left before the half. The Generals battled back with three straight goals, all from different scorers, to cut their deficit in half. However, with just three seconds remaining before halftime, Miller scored again for the Captains for a 10-6 lead at the break.
Scoring slowed in the third quarter, as Christopher Newport edged W&L, 2-1, in the frame, before the lead grew to a game-high seven after a Brendes goal with 6:32 left in the game. The Generals posted another 3-0 run, with Pokorny goals sandwiched around and score from Burns. Burns' and Pokorny's second goal came just nine seconds apart to give the Generals life, but the Captains got two defensive stops over the final two minutes to hang on for the win.
Pokorny totaled a team-high four points on three goals and an assist for his third straight three-goal and four-point performance. Burns and Allen each added three points, as Burns scored once and assisted twice, to three goals for Allen. Allen also added two ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Senior
Alex Kelly (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) picked up a team-best six ground balls and caused one turnover, and senior
Boots Lackey (Alexandria, Va. / The Heights School) joined Allen as the two Generals to finish the night with multiple ground balls (4) and caused turnovers (2). First-year
Colin Beatty (Summit, N.J. / Summit) and senior
Harris Hubbard (Madison, Miss. / Highland Park (Texas)) both notched three ground balls, and Hubbard caused one turnover. In goal, first-year
Ryan Boyd (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham) (5-2) played all 60 minutes and made 12 saves.
The Captains were led on offense by six points on five goals and an assist from Brett Jackson, as well as a five-point performance from Brendes (all goals). Coby Auslander (one goal, three assists) and Miller (two goals, two assists) came in next with four points each to round out the top scorers. On face-offs, Warner Cabaniss took all 30 in the game for CNU and won 19, while adding a game-high 10 ground balls.
Zac Hanway (9-0) also played the game's duration between the pipes and matched Boyd's 12 saves.
CNU finished the game with a 53-38 advantage in total shot attempts, which included 12 or more in each quarter. W&L forced 14 turnovers and committed 11, including just two after halftime, and both teams collected 29 ground balls.
The Generals will return to action and ODAC play on Saturday when they host No. 13 Lynchburg at 2:00 pm.
