MAROONS DOMINATE FOURTH, BEAT W&L 16-9 IN ODACs
Maroons Will Host Lynchburg at 1:00pm Sunday, Roanoke Now 12-2 Overall

SALEM, VA--Leading just 10-9 after three quarters of play, the Roanoke College men’s lacrosse team erupted for six fourth quarter goals in a 16-9 win over Washington & Lee University in the semifinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference on Wednesday. The Maroons improve to 12-2 on the season and advance to the championship game of the ODAC tournament. The Maroons will host Lynchburg College on Sunday afternoon. Game time is tentatively set for 1:00pm. Washington & Lee has its season come to an end with a 7-6 overall record. Roanoke’s win Wednesday gave the team two wins against W&L in 2006, the first time the Maroons have ever beaten the Generals twice in a single-season.

After the first 45 minutes of action, the Maroons held a slim 10-9 edge. After killing off a Washington & lee man-up to start the fourth quarter, the Maroons pushed their lead to 11-9 on a Jon Mason score. Mason was left alone on the crease and on a catch-and-shoot pass from Chris Keating scored the first of his two goals in the period. With 10:53 left on the clock, Matt Duke swept left and beat W&L keeper Chris Lalli and just 30 seconds later Mason finished a Chaz Carlson pass to give the Maroons a 13-9 lead.

With the ball on the wing with 7:52 to play, Carlson recorded his second point of the day, scoring from about 10 yards out. With 2:31 left in the game, Zach Thomas found an open Brendan Moore on the crease and the RC scoring in the period was capped by freshman Richard Fox with 59 seconds left. Fox scored on a move from behind the net and on a shot the snuck in the upper-right corner.

The first 45 minutes were a different story. The opening 30 minutes were played to a 6-6 draw and the third period saw the Maroons outscore Washington & Lee 4-3. Roanoke opened the scoring with back-to-back goals from Keating, both on Matt Duke passes. Grant Martin got the Generals to within one, scoring on a Tim Skeen pass from behind the cage. After Mason gave the Maroons a 3-1 lead, W&L’s Ned Rider slipped away from the Maroon defense and took a weakside cross-crease pass from Jim Ryan to make the score 3-2.

Thomas scored back-to-back goals, one in the first, one in the second, the second on a fastbreak pass from Andrew Hall, and the Maroons led 5-3. The second of his goals came with just 4:51 left in the half and sparked a wild sequence of events. With 2:50 left in the half, W&L freshman Harry St. John beat his defender one-on-one and stuck a shot into the corner to make the score 5-4. After winning the ensuing face-off, the Generals tied the score at five on a Rider goal 45 seconds later.

Again W&L won the face-off but this time went right to the goal and got a Tim Skeen goal on a Seldon Clarke assist with just seven seconds elapsed. On the next face-off, Roanoke gained possession and 10 seconds later got a Thomas goal on a Moore assist. Clarke won the next face-off forward, moved down the field and scored in six seconds, tying the score at six. Five goals were scored in the span of 1:08.

Clarke won 11 of the 22 face-offs he took in the game, while Roanoke freshman Josh Rea was successful on seven of his 11 attempts. The Maroons assisted on 10 of their 16 goals, with both Duke and Keating recording two assists. Washington & Lee goalie Chris Lalli made 10 saves, while Maroon keeper Matt Madalon made two saves crucial saves in the fourth quarter, both on W&L man-up chances.

Roanoke vs. Washington & Lee Box Score