GREENSBORO, N.C. – The 10th-ranked Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team won its fourth straight game, improving to 2-0 in ODAC play, with a 21-5 win at Guilford, which featured a 15-1 scoring barrage in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With the Generals (6-2) leading by a 6-4 score entering the third quarter, Guilford's (2-7, 0-2 ODAC) Gavin Brown brought the Quakers one goal closer with a score at the 12:37 mark. W&L then unleashed for the final 15 goals of the game, including four in the three minutes following Guilford's fifth goal, to cruise to the victory.
Eight of W&L's 15 second-half goals came in the third quarter, followed by a 7-0 score in the fourth to close things out. First-year
Avery Richardson led the offense with five goals in the second half, with first-year
Jack Dalton and junior
Jack Booth each contributing two scores over the final 30 minutes.
The Generals raced out to a 3-0 lead to begin the game, as first-year
James Meyer tallied the opening goal, and the next two coming from junior
Ben Irmscher. After nearly four minutes of no scoring, the Quakers got a goal from Bashwyn Fitch to start a 4-2 run which spanned until 9:45 remained in the second quarter. Just 20 seconds later, W&L senior
Gavin McClernan found the back of the next for the team's two-goal lead, which held through halftime.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Irmscher followed up his career-high five points against Shenandoah this past Wednesday with a second consecutive five-point outing, scoring three times and assisting twice. Richardson's five goals tied Irmscher for the team high in points, with Dalton (2g, 1a) and McClernan (1g, 2a) coming in next with three each. Irmscher also scooped up six ground balls to lead all attackmen.
After missing one game, sophomore
Tyler Spano returned and was nearly perfect on face-offs for the Generals. He went 18-of-19 with 10 ground balls, plus a goal, to lead the face-off specialists. Sophomore
Thomas Moxley won 5-of-6, first-year
Israel Mikkelson claimed all four of his chances and first-year
Jax Lou was 1-for-1.
Junior
Jay O'Keefe led all W&L defensemen with two caused turnovers and a ground ball, with 11 of his teammates all forcing one turnover each. In goal, sophomore
Nick De Cain earned the win after he made three saves across the first 38:07. First-year
JJ Kim played the next 17:15 and stopped all three shots he faced, while junior
Ryan Boyd covered the final 4:38.
For the Quakers, Fitch and Seth Woods both had two points to lead the offense, as five different players tallied at least one point. Wyatt Dwyer paced the team with three caused turnovers and two ground balls, followed by two turnovers caused each from Landon Trail and Drew Sizemore. Darius Safafi-Abbassi played all 60 minutes in the GC goal and made 22 saves.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Spano's 18-of-19 performance on face-offs on Saturday put his career face-off win total at 415, as he continues to close in on the program's career leaders. He needs 32 more to tie Sandy Harrison '88 for eighth place. Spano remains third in program history in face-off win percentage (.663), but his mark of 0.706 this season has moved him within 0.003 of Tommy Melanson '03 for second and 0.010 behind Jack Hodgson '20 for the top spot.
TEAM STATS:
W&L outshot the Quakers by a final total of 68-20, which included 13 or more shots taken in all four quarters and five shots allowed or fewer in three of the four. The Blue and White outgained Guilford 48-17 in ground balls and were 16-of-17 on clear attempts.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be home for their next game, as they host Bridgewater on Wednesday night 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.
