The #7 Seed Virginia Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team (7-11, 4-6 ODAC) fell to the #6 seed Shenandoah 9-6 in the first round of the ODAC Championship Tournament.
Sebastian Reynolds led the team with one goal, one assist, on three shots, and caused one turnover, and teammate
George Psaltis scored two goals, one three shots, and had one ground ball.
Zack Tucker took the loss, played 60 minutes, allowed nine goals, and tallied 16 saves.
Jeremiah Madriaga had a historic day as he broke the single-season record for faceoff wins with 202 with his six today, breaking the previous record held by
Kris Barnum in 2023 of 197.
The game began with an energetic start, as both teams traded early blows. Virginia Wesleyan struck first at 12:58 when Cooper Seider netted an unassisted goal to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. Shenandoah quickly responded just a minute later when Matt Daniel, off an unassisted effort, evened the score at 1-1.
George Psaltis gave the Marlins their second lead of the game at 7:38, scoring unassisted to put Virginia Wesleyan ahead 2-1. However, Shenandoah capitalized with back-to-back goals, with Josh Boonshaft scoring off an assist from Jake Green at 3:57 to tie things up at 2-2. Shenandoah's Daniel struck again at 1:42 with an unassisted goal to give the Hornets a 3-2 edge as the first quarter came to a close.
Shenandoah took control in the second quarter with a series of well-executed plays. The Hornets' Cody Griffis put his team up 4-2 with a man-up goal at 13:28, assisted by Clark Harrity. Just minutes later, at 8:14, the Hornets extended their lead to 5-2. As Virginia Wesleyan struggled to find their rhythm, Shenandoah continued to apply pressure, scoring another goal to push the Hornets' lead to 6-2. The Marlins found a brief spark with just 27 seconds left in the half, when Sebastien Reynolds scored unassisted, pulling Virginia Wesleyan to within 6-3 as the teams entered halftime.
The second half began with Shenandoah continuing their dominance scoring a goal at 7:39 in the third to give the Hornets a 7-3 lead. Despite the deficit, Virginia Wesleyan refused to back down, but they struggled to convert their chances into goals and ended with the Marlins trailing 7-3.
The Marlins made one final push in the fourth quarter, looking to rally from a four-goal deficit. At 9:21,
Patrick Ruffolo gave the Marlins some hope with a man-up goal, assisted by Sebastien Reynolds, cutting the lead to 8-4. However, Shenandoah responded with another goal to put the Hornets up 9-4. Virginia Wesleyan refused to quit, and with just 33 seconds remaining,
George Psaltis scored his second goal of the game, once again unassisted, pulling the Marlins to within 9-5. In the final seconds, a goal by
Parker Lucas, also unassisted, brought the Marlins within three, but the clock ran out before they could mount a more significant comeback. The game ended with a 9-6 scoreline in favor of Shenandoah.
