LEXINGTON, Va. – The eighth-ranked Washington and Lee University women’s lacrosse team won its 14th consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference trophy with an 11-10 victory over 13th-ranked Roanoke on Sunday afternoon .
The team’s 28th appearance in the title game was a tough 60 minutes on Alston Parker Watt’s field, but the Generals’ defense (16-3) held off the Maroons (15-4) to win the 24th ODAC championship in program history. .
HOW DID IT HAPPEN
Roanoke took an early 1-0 lead two minutes into the opening tie, but the Blue and White responded with five unanswered scores.
The elderly Hanna Bishop (2), Alex Petras (2) and Walker McKnight were responsible for all five goals and the defense made numerous stops to take the lead before giving up a 7-on-6 free position goal at 3:43 by Tracey Benzing.
Grace Koutouzis finished the period with an unassisted Maroons goal to bring RC within two scores. The visitors closed out the first break with a score from Libby Bowman 44 seconds into the second quarter.
The two teams shared the six goals in the second quarter. To end the half, W&L capitalized on two player opportunities with scores of Sophie Edwards and Petras found the back of the net from the left hash to go up 8-6. RC tied the score at 6-6 in the first half, then again at 9-9 in the third.
Bishop scored what would be the nail in the coffin late in the third. His unassisted tally with 0:03 on the clock gave WLU a 10-9 lead heading into the final quarter.
With the one-goal advantage, the pace slowed and the two teams only shared two goals in the final stanza. Roanoke scored the last shot of the game, trying to tie the game, 11 with 31 seconds remaining. Kate Loughran was stuffed by the goalkeeper Caroline Kranich and the generals ran out of time to capture the trophy.
IN NUMBERS
- W&L dominated RC 43-25.
- The Maroons were 17 of 20 on punt attempts and turned the ball over a total of 13 times.
- The Generals were nearly perfect on punts, 19 of 20, and only turned the ball over six times.
- The Blue and White had an 18-9 advantage in ground balls and outscored RC in draw controls, 13-12.
- Roanoke converted 4 of 7 free position shots and held W&L to 1 of 5 successful conversions.
W&L EXECUTIVES
- Bishop led W&L in points with four goals and two assists. Bishop caught a pair of ground balls and forced a turnover during the drive.
- Petras had a hat trick and added four ground balls on shot attempts.
- Defender Eugenie Rovegno caught three ground balls, two caused turnovers and led the game with seven draws.
- Kranich made 10 saves for the Blue and White.
RC MANAGERS
- Grace Koutouzis led RC in points with a goal and two assists.
- Loughran and Maddie McDonald combined for two scores. Nicole Harrison recorded two points on a goal and an assist.
- Harrison caught a pair of ground balls and three draw drives.
- Sopha Chickering led RC in draws with five in total.
- Kyleigh Chickering made 15 saves in the Maroons crease.
All-Tournament Team
- Randolph-Macon: Rachel Gibson
- Randolph-Macon: Rianna Lowery
- Shenandoah: Ainsley Buckner
- Shenandoah: Julianna Fohner
- Roanoke: Libby Bowman
- Roanoke: Kyleigh Chickering
- Roanoke: Sydney Harrison
- Washington and Lee: Libby Ford
- Washington and Lee: Caroline Foster
- Washington and Lee: Caroline Kranich
- Washington and Lee: Alex Petras
- Washington and Lee: Eugenie Rovegno
FOLLOWING
Washington and Lee earned ODAC automatic entry into the NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The 46-team bracket is expected to be announced Monday at 10:30 a.m. ET via the Selection Show on NCAA.com.
