GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior
Alex Brown and sophomore
James Haley combined for 12 points to lead the 12th-ranked Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team to a 15-8 victory at seventh-ranked Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (4-1) began the third quarter with a 9-2 lead, which grew to 10-2 just eight seconds in after first-year
Tyler Spano won the face-off and went straight down the field for the score. The Bullets (2-2) held the Blue and White scoreless for the rest of the quarter, however, and added three goals of their own, two from Quinton Mather, to get back within five entering the fourth.
In the final quarter, W&L not only outscored the home side by a 5-3 score, the Generals scored each of the first four goals of the period to all but ensure the victory. Junior
Hillis Burns found the back of the net twice, while Haley scored once and assisted Brown on a goal. Gettysburg scored three of the final four goals in the game overall, but the Generals held the Bullets off the board for the final 3:07 to close out the win.
W&L got out to a roaring start on the day as it outscored Gettysburg, 6-0, in the first quarter. Senior
Sam Mannino got on the board first, while Brown scored twice and Haley had an additional goal and assist in the opening period. Brown scored twice more in the second quarter, both off feeds from Haley, and Burns got his first goal of the game with 2:08 left before halftime to close the first-half scoring. GC's first goal of the game came at the 13:20 mark of the second from Luke Barbera, with Jack Dunleavy scoring 11 minutes later.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Haley tied his career high in points with his second seven-point outing in the last three games. His seven points were distributed among three goals and four assists, while all five of Brown's points came on goals. Haley added two ground balls to his line, while Brown picked up three and caused two turnovers. Burns finished with three goals and a caused turnover, and senior
Michael Ott dished out three assists.
Spano went 20-of-26 (.769) on face-offs, scored twice and picked up 14 ground balls. First-year
Nick De Cain got his second straight start in goal and stopped 8-of-16 shots while playing all 60 minutes.
Dunleavy led the GC offense with four total points on three goals and an assist, and Mather (2g) and Ethan Kessler (1g, 1a) both had two points. Brian Delduchetto and Andy Marquet led the defense with three caused turnovers each, with Delduchetto picking up four ground balls, and Chase Morgan made eight saves in goal across all 60 minutes.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals' win over the Bullets on Saturday snapped a four-game losing streak in the all-time head-to-head, and it was the first time W&L defeated Gettysburg on its home field since an 8-7 victory on March 10, 2001.
Brown closed the gap for his chase for 100 career goals to three after his five-goal performance on Saturday, which boosted his career-point total to 115.
Spano entered the weekend tied for 17th in Division III men's lacrosse with 10.75 ground balls per game. That average went up to 11.4 per game after 14 ground balls on Saturday, which would rank 11th in the nation.
TEAM STATS:
The Bullets outshot the Blue and White 48-32 in the game, including 28-14 in the second half, but the Generals put 71.9 percent (23-32) of their shots on goal, compared to just 33.3 percent (16-48) for Gettysburg. Both teams were nearly even in clears (W&L 18-22, GC 19-22) and ground balls picked up (W&L 33, GC 31), and the W&L defense held strong on 6-of-7 GC extra-man opportunities.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action next weekend at the Mustang Classic in Owings Mills, Md., hosted by Stevenson. They will first take on No. 2 RIT on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
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.
