LEXINGTON, Va. -- Neither Washington & Lee University's Generals or Virginia Wesleyan College's walked off Watt Field particularly happy after Wednesday's 9-6 final in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference women's lacrosse tournament semifinal game.
No. 15 W&L took the win, but in a game that reminded the Generals (13-4) that nothing is guaranteed when it come to tournament competition. For VWC, it was a game that taught the Marlins (10-8) the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity presented to score. Virginia Wesleyan missed on four free position shots in the second half, as well as a couple of potential scoring situations from in close, as Washington & Lee held on for the win.
Virginia Wesleyan took a 2-0 lead when Courtney Williams (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) and Tara Harding (Waterford, N.Y./Clifton Park Shenendehowa) got the ball past Generals' goalie Katharine Farrar (Lexington, Va./Episcopal). The Generals had several scoring opportunites in the early minutes, but VWC goalie Brittany MacKnew (Abingdon, Md./Bel Air) stopped every attempt.
But, the Generals, the top seeded team in the ODAC tournament, began to find the goal and reeled off three consecutive scores to take the lead. Virginia Wesleyan came right back however, and tied the game when Williams scored her second goal of the contest.
Washington & Lee found the net for two additional goals to take a 5-3 halftime lead, and maintained momentum through the early minutes of the second half. The Generals reeled off six straight goals to build a 9-3 advantage, before a shot by Natalie Belva (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) put the Marlins back on the scoreboard.
VWC scored the final three goals of the game, with Lauren Davis (Middleburg, Va./Mercersburg Academy, Pa.) and Taylor Harding (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Collegiate) pulling the Marlins with a 9-6 score before time ran out.
W&L helped itself by dominating draw control battles, 14-3. The Generals also posted a 31-17 advantage in shots, but MacKnew stepped up for 10 saves. Farrar finished with 10 saves for the host team.
Emmy Mathews (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) led the Generals with three goals.
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