LEXINGTON, Va. – The No. 13 Washington and Lee men's lacrosse team is set to take on No. 7 Gettysburg on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship in Newport News, Va.
POD BASIC INFO:
The Generals and Bullets will play in the pod's second game on Saturday after the conclusion of No. 5 Christopher Newport vs. Pfeiffer. Saturday's winning teams will then meet on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. in the third round for a chance to play in next weekend's national quarterfinal round.
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
The Generals (15-5) have been surging over the last month and a half of the season, as they come into the weekend having won nine straight games and 12 of their last 13. They bulldozed their way through the ODAC Tournament, ending in an 18-8 win over then No. 7 Lynchburg in the title game. The Generals outscored their opponents 61-22 in their three conference tournament games and did not allow more than eight goals in any of the three games.
Gettysburg enters the national tournament on a six-game winning streak, which includes earning the Centennial Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament following a 13-12 win over No. 8 Dickinson in overtime in the conference title game. Overall, Gettysburg carries a 12-4 record into the national playoffs and have won 10 of the last 11 games.
The Captains earned the right to host this weekend's pod after finishing the season ranked fourth in the National Power Index (NPI). They are 16-3 overall this season and had won seven in a row before falling in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) championship game to No. 5 Salisbury, 10-9, last weekend in overtime. Out of their three losses this season, two are by one goal each.
Pfeiffer round out this weekend's teams and already has a taste of postseason action this week. The Falcons have won 16-of-18 games this season, including a 23-7 victory over Southern Virginia in the USA South Conference championship, and added an NCAA Tournament first round win this past Wednesday, 15-8, against Transylvania.
MATCHUP HISTORY:
The Falcons and Captains will be meeting for the first time ever in men's lacrosse on Saturday, while the Generals and Bullets are much more familiar with each other. The W&L/Gettysburg matchup has been featured on the regular season schedule five straight years, with an additional meeting coming in last season's NCAA Tournament third round, where the Bullets edged the Generals, 14-12, in Lexington.
For more all-time matchup history between these four teams, click the following links:
W&L |
Gettysburg |
Christopher Newport |
Pfeiffer
TOP PLAYERS & STATISTICAL LEADERS:
WASHINGTON AND LEE
W&L received 11 All-ODAC selections from the conference office this week, along with three major award winners in Head Coach
Gene McCabe (Coach of the Year), first-year
Luke Caldwell (Rookie of the Year) and senior
Chris Datz (Scholar Athlete of the Year).
Caldwell is in the midst of an all-time rookie season for the W&L men's lacrosse program with 94 points (program rookie record) on 49 goals and 45 assists. Senior
James Haley leads the offense with 103 points on 54 goals and 49 assists, and most recently became the second player in program history to eclipse 100 points in a single season (Hudson Pokorny, 2023). First-year
Tucker Davis has also been a strong addition to the W&L offense with 60 points on 38 goals and 22 assists.
Senior
Jay O'Keefe paces the defense with a team-high 28 caused turnovers, followed by 15 each from Datz and senior defensive midfielder
Colin Beatty. Those three players also make up the Top 3 in ground balls on the team among non-faceoff players. Sophomore
JJ Kim has held down goalie duties for a team-high 552:30 this season. He is yielding a 7.60 goals-against average and a 0.533 save percentage.
Each of W&L's face-off players have a win percentage of 60 percent or better, highlighted by sophomore
Israel Mikkelson at 0.683 (149-218). Mikkelson leads the squad in ground balls (97) and is tied with junior
Thomas Moxley in faceoff attempts. Moxley has won 62.8 percent of his faceoffs this season with 75 ground balls, while first-year
Hunter Hodges is 75-for-118 (.636) with 42 ground balls.
GETTYSBURG
The Bullets collected five All-Centennial Conference accolades, led by Charlie Johnson, Ethan Kessler and Brian Delduchetto on the first team. Johnson is third on the team in points (49) but leads in goals with 43. Jackson Barroll, a Second Team All-CC pick, ranks second in points (58) on 33 goals and 25 assists, with Jackson Hearn pacing the offense at 60 points on 26 goals and a team-best 34 assists.
Delduchetto is the Bullets' top defenseman with 20 caused turnovers to go along with 22 ground balls, with Will Hedley, another All-CC second teamer, has 12 caused turnovers and 33 ground balls, on top of 10 points (7g, 3a) this season. Murphy Hoey has started all 16 games in cage for Gettysburg and owns a 10.26 goals-against average in 877 minutes of action.
Jacob Goldstein is Gettysburg's most commonly used faceoff specialist with 218 attempts. He has won 57.3 percent of his draws, scooped up a team-high 71 ground balls and produced four points (2g, 2a). Brady Schwenk is the Bullets' top option by percentage among qualified players, winning 60.1 percent on 83-of-138.
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT
The Captains brought home three Coastal Lacrosse Conference major awards and 11 All-CLC citations, headlined by Mason Bellinger (Def. Player of the Year), Ryan Miller (Rookie of the Year) and head coach Mikey Thompson (Coach of the Year).
Bellinger has started all 19 games in goal for CNU this season and has posted a 9.33 goals-against average across 1,061:20 of game action while stopping 60.6 percent of opponents' shots. He has also caused nine turnovers and recorded 55 ground balls.
Miller is one of CNU's top offensive options this season, ranking third on the team in points (72) but second in both goals (36) and assists (36), to go along with 12 caused turnovers and 50 ground balls. Kevin Miller leads the offense with 94 points on 29 goals and 65 assists, while Jamie Smith follows at 90 points (78g, 12a). Smith and K. Miller have also combined for 22 caused turnovers and 71 ground balls.
The Captains have five players with at least 20 caused turnovers this season, led by Brett Kelley (44) and Mark Davison (31). Kelley is second on the team in ground balls (68) to Grant Giunchi (81), who has won 53.4 percent (172-322) of his faceoffs and added three points to the offense.
PFEIFFER
The Falcons nearly swept the USA South Conference major awards, while adding 13 all-conference players. Ethan Miles was the conference offensive player of the year, Michael Keane won top defensive honors and head coach Tucker Nelson won Coach of the Year.
Miles leads all players in the Newport News pod and ranks fifth in Division III with 111 points this season on 54 goals and 57 assists. Tiger Hopkins and Dylan Sullivan have both added over 90 points apiece, as well, to lead the nation's second-highest scoring team (19.3 goals/game), with Davis Palombo and Trent Orr combining for another 109 points.
Keane paces the Falcons' defense with 40 caused turnovers this season, on top of 71 ground balls and eight points (2g, 6a). Luc Danis has contributed 22 caused turnovers and 37 ground balls, while Korbin Hamilton owns an 8.96 goals-against average in 629:34 (14 starts) of action.
Lee Caldwell and Kaleb Simpson have handled faceoff duties for the Falcons this season, taking just under 80 percent (422-539) of the team's total faceoffs. Caldwell is the team's win percentage leader at 0.697 (138-198) with 62 ground balls, compared to Simpson's 0.576 (129-224) and 72 ground balls. Simpson is tied with Ezequel Ceant for the most ground balls on the team.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets can be purchased one hour prior to the scheduled start for each game this weekend at the ticket table inside the front gate of Jennings Family Stadium. Prices will be $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. All ticket sales are cash only.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Pfeiffer and Christopher Newport will open things up this weekend at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the Generals and Bullets at 3:00 p.m. The two winning teams will then meet on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
All three games this weekend will have live streams and live stats provided by Christopher Newport University. Click
here to follow live on Saturday and Sunday.
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.
