LEXINGTON, Va. – The No. 7 Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team rolled to a 20-9 win over Scranton on Saturday in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Seniors
Hillis Burns and
Jack Elliott scored once apiece in the opening five minutes of play, before the game did not see another goal until Thomas Popolizio found the back of the net for Scranton (12-9) at the 4:14 mark. The Generals (17-3) then used a 3-1 run, all from senior
Joey Allen, to build their lead to three goals just under a minute into the second quarter.
After a Quinn Carson goal for the Royals at the 8:04 mark of the second, the W&L offense found its stride with 12 consecutive goals from 5:27 left before halftime until 5:43 was left in the third for a 17-3 lead. The Generals' 12 goals came from nine different players, led by three from junior
James Haley and a pair of goals from first-year
Robert Bath.
Myles McCutcheon was next to score for Scranton with 2:35 left in the third, before Haley and senior
Gavin McClernan tacked on the next two W&L goals for a 19-4 lead. The Royals went down fighting in the game, as they scored five of the final six goals on the day which came in the final 11 minutes of play. Kyle Holmes and McCutcheon both scored two of the five for the Royals to close out the game.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Haley scored five points on four goals and one assist for his third straight game with exactly five points, and fourth performance in his last five games with at least five points. Allen (3g), Burns (2g, 1a) and Cardillo (2g, 1a) each had three points, plus two more points each from Bath (2g), McClernan (1g, 1a) and first-year
Jack Dalton (1g, 1a).
Sophomore
Tyler Spano took a bulk of the face-offs in the early going and won 13-of-14 with 10 ground balls. First-year
Israel Mikkelson covered much of the second half for the Generals and was 15-of-18 on face-offs with 10 ground balls, as well.
Defensively, sophomore
Spencer Surface led the way with two caused turnovers plus one ground ball, with one more caused turnover each for senior
Mikel Zahralddin, junior
Jay O'Keefe and sophomores
Ryan Donahue and
Blair Brennan. Junior
Chris Datz led the defensemen with four ground balls, while junior
Ethan Villamater had three.
In the W&L goal, sophomore
Nick De Cain played 39:17 and stopped 5-of-8 shots to earn the win. First-year
JJ Kim entered and played the next 12:04 with one save, with senior
Keene Cornick closing the contest with four stops over the final 8:39.
McCutcheon and Jason Kozak paced the Scranton offense with three points each on a combined four goals and two assists. Connor Cole caused four turnovers, while Erin Reisenwitz and Pat McCormack had two ground balls each. Carsen Kirchner played the first three quarters in goal for the Royals and made 11 saves, before Jake Dagata covered the fourth quarter and made one save.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals' win on Saturday moved them into sole possession of the second-most wins in a season in program history (17). The 2023 team holds the record with 18.
W&L will make its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 16 on Sunday, and it also marks the 11th time in their last 12 trips to the national tournament that the Generals have won at least their first game.
The Generals increased their winning streak to nine games and ended Scranton's 12-game winning streak. The Royals began the season at 0-8 overall before winning their next 12 prior to this weekend.
TOP PERFORMERS:
W&L held statistical advantages in the game in shot attempts (52-37), shots on goal (32-19) and ground balls (49-16). Both teams converted on one man-up opportunity each, while Scranton turned the ball over two fewer times than the Blue and White (20-18).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will host No. 10 Gettysburg on Sunday at Wilson Field at 3:00 p.m. The Bullets got past No. 14 Stevens in Saturday's second game in Lexington by a final score of 15-9. It will be the second meeting this season between the Generals and Bullets after a 16-13 Gettysburg win in Lexington on March 8.
Postgame press conference with W&L Head Coach Gene McCabe and seniors Hillis Burns & Joey Allen
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.
