OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The eighth-ranked Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team had its four-game winning streak snapped on Friday in a 15-9 loss to third-ranked Rochester Institute of Technology on the first day of the Mustang Classic.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Tigers (6-0) had the upper hand early, scoring four of the first five goals of the game through 13:15 of play. W&L (4-2) first-year
Andrew Keller had the Blue and White's first tally on an assist from junior
Hillis Burns at the 8:11 mark.
Senior
Sam Mannino then scored the Generals' second goal before the first-quarter horn sounded, which kick-started a 4-1 run from W&L to tie the game, 5-5, with 8:47 left before halftime. Junior
Jack Elliott was a major factor for the Generals' offense in that span, as he scored three unassisted goals, with his third tying the game.
RIT began to run away with the game, however, with five consecutive goals, three of which came in the second quarter, to build up a 10-5 advantage. The Tigers then did not allow consecutive scores from the Generals for the remainder of the game to close out the win. W&L tallied four goals in the second half, three from senior
Alex Brown.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Brown and Elliott led the W&L offense with three points each, all on goals, while Burns rounded out the Generals with multiple points (2a). That trio also combined for six ground balls, with Burns pacing the group with three. Senior
Jed Heald had a strong defensive effort on the day, as he caused four turnovers and came away with four ground balls.
W&L first-year
Tyler Spano won 13-of-27 face-offs and picked up six ground balls, while sophomore
Chris Datz and first-year
Nick De Cain both scooped up four ground balls. Between the pipes, De Cain played all 60 minutes and made nine saves.
RIT's Jake Erickson posted a game-high five points on two goals and three assists, and he was followed by four-point efforts each from Luke Pilcher (3g, 1a) and Kaden Brunson (2g, 2a). Allyn French was the Tigers' top face-off man with an 11-of-17, four-ground ball game, as he, Mike Grace and Jamie Hunt all picked up at least four ground balls.
Alex Zborowski played the duration of the game in the RIT goal, and he made 19 saves to claim the win.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Brown's third and final goal of the game marked the 100th of his career. He now has 100 goals and 118 points in 48 career games, with 70 points (63g, 7a) since the start of last season.
TEAM STATS:
W&L edged RIT in ground balls by a 36-32 count and forced 10 more turnovers than committed (20-10). The Tigers saw four man-up opportunities and scored on all four, with a 2-for-6 showing from the Blue and White with an extra man.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Saturday when they play Mustang Classic hosts Stevenson at 8:00 p.m. at Mustang Stadium.
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.
