BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The 12th-ranked Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team outscored Bridgewater, 11-0, in the second quarter alone on its way to a 23-5 rout of the Eagles on Wednesday in both teams' first ODAC contest of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Eagles (1-2, 0-1 ODAC) grabbed a 3-1 lead through the first eight minutes of play, thanks to three different goal scorers. First-year
Andrew Keller had the initial W&L (2-1, 1-0 ODAC) tally on an assist from sophomore
James Haley at the 12:05 mark. After Bridgewater took its 3-1 lead with 6:54 left in the opening quarter, the Generals scored 17 straight goals, spanning into the third quarter, to all but ensure the win. Haley had a team-high five goals during the run, followed by three from senior
Alex Brown.
Bridgewater finally got back on the scoreboard at the 6:57 mark of the third quarter on a Drew Huber goal, and the Eagles added their fifth score 65 seconds later from Riley Stewart. From that point on, W&L held BC scoreless once again, while denting the scoreboard for the final five goals of the game. Five different Generals scored across the final 18:27, with senior
Michael Ott and first-year
James Cardillo adding one assist each.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Just one game after notching a career-high five points, Haley reset his career best with seven points on Wednesday on five goals and two assists. Haley's five goals also marked a new career high, and he added two ground balls and a caused turnover to his line. Junior
Hillis Burns followed with five points on three goals and two assists, while Brown (3g) and sophomore
Colin Beatty (1g, 2a) each recorded three points. Beatty's three points were a new single-game career high, and he added three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
First-year
Tyler Spano took a W&L-high 19 face-offs, won nine and picked up eight ground balls. Spano also scored his first collegiate goal at the 10:42 mark of the second quarter and caused a team-high three turnovers. Senior
Jed Heald and sophomore
Jay Seevers were also quick to loose balls, collecting three in the game to follow Spano.
Huber was the lone Eagle to record multiple points, as he scored once and assisted on another goal. Gabriel Alexander went 17-for-27 on face-offs with 14 ground balls, and Ryan Addison led the defense with four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
In goal, W&L senior
Ryan Aljader played the first half and stopped 3-of-6 shots on goal that he faced. First-year
Nick De Cain played the next 25 minutes and made four saves, while junior
Keene Cornick played the final five minutes and was 2-for-2 on saves. Gabe Wallman took the loss in net for the Eagles after he allowed 16 goals and made five saves in the first half.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
First-years
Ryan Donahue and
Jeremy Horne marked two more goal scorers for the Blue and White who found the back of the net for the first times in their collegiate careers. Donahue's came at the 14:04 mark of the third, while Horne was the scorer on the Cardillo assist with 5:29 remaining in the game.
The Generals nearly duplicated last year's result against the Eagles, which was a 23-6 victory on April 1 in Lexington. W&L is 12-0 all-time against Bridgewater in men's lacrosse and has only allowed double-digit goals to the Eagles in one of the 12 meetings.
TEAM STATS:
W&L outshot Bridgewater by a final total of 66-31, which included a 26-7 margin in the second quarter. The Generals forced the Eagles into 29 turnovers and held a 39-32 advantage in ground balls over the Crimson and Gold.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Sunday when they host No. 18 Denison at 12:00 p.m. at Wilson Field.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
