LYNCHBURG, Va. – The 10th-ranked Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team posted a program-record tying 31 goals, more than half of which came in the first quarter, as the team rolled to a 31-5 win at Randolph on Friday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (12-3, 8-0 ODAC) scored the first nine goals of the game, en route to posting a 16-2 lead through one quarter of play. Senior
Alex Brown led the team with three goals in the early going, while junior
Hillis Burns blitzed the Randolph (4-10, 2-6 ODAC) defense with eight points (2g, 6a) in the first.
W&L scored the next seven goals, including three in the second quarter for a 19-2 halftime lead, with each goal coming from a different scorer. Randolph's Chase Callen scored with 6:36 left in the third, before the Blue and White ended the game on an 8-2 run to close out the scoring. The WildCats managed back-to-back goals on one occasion in the game, which came at the 9:11 and 8:27 marks of the fourth.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Burns' eight-point first quarter marked all his points on the day. His eight points were one away from tying his career high, while six assists set a new single-game best. Senior
Justin Le (3g, 2a) and sophomores
Sam Bassett (3g, 2a) and
James Haley (1g, 4a) all tallied five points, while junior
Jack Todd (3g, 1a) and first-year
Harrison Hanson (1g, 3a) both recorded four points.
The W&L face-off unit had another stellar, balanced performance by winning 35-of-40 in the game. First-year
Tyler Spano won all nine that he took, and he picked up five ground balls, while senior
Nick Tussing won 12-of-13 and secured nine ground balls. Senior
Will Bou went 6-for-7 with four ground balls and first-year
Thomas Moxley won 8-of-11 and scooped up six ground balls.
First-year
Will Abramson led the W&L defense with three caused turnovers, and he also got to three ground balls, while sophomore
Ethan Villamater tied Abramson with three ground balls. First-year
Nick De Cain played the first 10:37 of the game to earn the win. Senior
Ryan Aljader came on next and led the W&L goalie quartet with 19:23 of action, plus a save.
Callan scored three times to lead the Randolph offense and Leyton Brightly followed with two points on two assists. Goalie Adam Ullfers picked up a team-high four ground balls and made 16 saves across all 60 minutes of action. Carlos Lopez, Tom Stahler and Kalon Ross all picked up three ground balls.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Burns' eight-point game vaulted his career total to 150. He needs 21 more points to enter the program's career Top 10, while eight more goals would give Burns an even 100 for his career.
Brown ended the game with three goals scored, which moved his season total to 52 and one away from tying Rob Morgan for the fifth-most goals in a season in program history. Brown is now within eight goals of the single-season record of 60, held by A.J. Witherell '19 (2018) and Ande Jenkins '97 (1997). From a career standpoint, Brown's hat trick on Friday moved him past Dave Warfield '75 (131) for fifth place. Next on the list is Jenkins at 164.
Bou moved within two face-off wins from tying Tom Super '99 (480) for the sixth-most face-off wins in program history. Bou can also move into fifth place in program history with 12 more wins.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals held a 64-8 advantage in total shot attempts, won the turnover battle (18-11) and picked up 55 ground balls to 16 from the hosts.
UP NEXT:
The Generals' next game will be their final ODAC contest of the regular season on Tuesday as they host Roanoke at 7:00 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.
