OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Three straight goals in a three-minute span late in the fourth quarter were not enough to complete the comeback for the eighth-ranked Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team, as the Generals dropped a 10-9 decision to Mustang Classic hosts Stevenson on Saturday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Trailing by a score of 10-6 with under five minutes to play, W&L senior
Sam Mannino gave the Generals (4-3) life with his 10th goal of the season at the 4:29 mark. Senior
Hillis Burns then cut the W&L deficit to two goals, following a pass from classmate
Leif Smith, with 1:20 left, before sophomore
Elliot Cohen led a fastbreak straight through the defense and found senior
Alex Brown for the team's ninth goal just 19 seconds later.
The Generals claimed the ensuing face-off, with junior
Riley Albregts picking up the ground ball, to get a timeout to draw up a play. Coming out of the huddle, Mannino got a shot off that went wide of the frame, and the Mustangs (3-4) later forced a turnover with 12 seconds left. Two penalties on the play, one from each team, allowed the Generals to retain possession for one final chance, but the Stevenson defense did not allow W&L to get a shut off before the final horn.
Sophomore
Chris Datz scored the game's first goal at the 11:29 mark of the first quarter, before four straight Mustang goals followed to close out the period. The Generals then tallied three straight goals and five of the next six in the game to take a 6-5 lead with 8:47 left in the third. Smith was the offensive leader for the Blue and White during that run, with three of the goals.
The Mustangs answered with five consecutive goals to turn a one-goal deficit into a 10-6 lead with 11:00 left to play. The W&L defense held strong after that, keeping Stevenson off the board for the remainder of play, but the W&L offense was held scoreless from 8:47 of the third until Mannino's goal with 4:29 left in the fourth.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Smith was the offensive leader for the Generals with four points on three goals and one assist, to go along with three ground balls. Burns (1g, 1a), Brown (2g) and sophomore
James Haley (2a) each notched two points, with Burns and Haley adding two ground balls as well. First-year
Tyler Spano went 14-of-21 on face-offs with seven ground balls, and he won each of the last four to help W&L mount its comeback.
In addition to his goal, Datz picked up four ground balls and caused one turnover, and senior
Jed Heald had another strong outing with two caused turnovers and three ground balls. First-year
Ryan Donahue matched Datz's line of four ground balls and one turnover caused, and first-year
Nick De Cain made nine saves in 60 minutes of action between the pipes.
The Stevenson offense was balanced, as no single player logged more than two points. In total, five different Mustangs had two points in the game, with Grant Zick, Darrell Curtis and Stephen Rinck all scoring twice. Ryan Quinn and Robbie Vanderklugt both caused two turnovers on defense, Conor Halpin had a team-high four ground balls and Justin Scorese made 12 saves in the winning effort.
TEAM STATS:
Both squads were successful on the clear, as W&L finished at 18-of-19 while the Mustangs cleared at a rate of 20-of-22. Stevenson edged the Blue and White in total shots taken (43-38) and won the turnover battle (16-13), while both teams scooped up 33 ground balls.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return home for their next game, a Wednesday night, 7:00 p.m. opening face-off against Elmhurst.
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.
